


Sunlight

by darth_stitch



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Hawaii Five-0 - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Crack, Crossover, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-07-27
Updated: 2011-08-30
Packaged: 2017-10-21 20:23:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/229402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darth_stitch/pseuds/darth_stitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was supposed to be a typical Halloween celebration for the Five-0 Team and little Grace Williams suddenly takes a sharp left turn into the strange and unusual when Club Denial opens up a branch in Hawaii.  Massive Epic Crack Crossover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** Not mine. Belongs to CBS, Peter Lenkov, the Powers that Be that run this wonderful show. Various other fandoms are referenced here, belonging to J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Joss Whedon, Mario Puzo, the creators of the animes Rurouni Kenshin and Bleach. There's a "blink and you'll miss it" reference to Highlander too. Will be careful and put the toys back in the box when I'm done. The characterizations of "Morrie" and "Fred" were by the lovely Murasaki99 in her wonderful fan fic "Blue Notes." Murasaki99 was kind enough to lend the boys out to me for all of the Club Denial stories.

 **DISCLAIMER TO SAVE MY SOUL FROM GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET:** Slash of the Steve/Danny variety. Run if it's not your cup of tea. Also, I have a yen for crack crossovers and I have officially now lost all shame of that. You have been warned.

* * *

 _I was wrong, I was wrong,  
Thinking my heart can be my own.  
I was strong, I was strong,  
When I had a reason to hold on.  
Let me fall, let me fall for you.  
Let me fall for you._

 _Don't look down, don't look down,  
By now it's too late to take it slow.  
Turn around, turn around,  
Give me a reason to let go.  
Let me fall, let me fall for you,  
Let me fall for you.  
_

 _It's almost over,  
I'm hanging by a thread.  
With all the words you never said  
I'm going under,  
So tell me what to do.  
I've got nothing to hold on to.  
Let me fall for you._

 _\- Sunlight_ , by David Cook from the album"This Loud Morning"

 **PROLOGUE**

Danny Williams is the father of a little girl, the son closest to his mother, long-suffering big brother to several sisters and was, however briefly, married to a woman.

He doesn't claim to be an expert on women – God knew that was just _asking_ for trouble. But he did pride himself and his detective skills on knowing when something was up with the womenfolk in his life. It was a survival skill, one that he really needed to teach to Steve, who was, God bless him, again making Sheer Obliviousness into an art form.

Of course, Danny first picks up the warning signs from Grace. He'd like to blame Steve for Grace loving scary stories, but the truth is, his little girl loves the spooky stories her grandfather told her and was only too pleased to find out that Steve was much the same and had his own stories to share. Of course, Danny can point to Rachel's love of campy supernatural TV shows and movies as well.

Danny is still firmly in denial over his little girl's baby crush on that Winchester guy.

"Vampires are _not_ supposed to be sparkly," Grace says severely, while deep in discussion on the subject with Kono and the newbie, Spooky.

It was the end of the day and Grace was again at the station on one of their Paperwork Days. Danny's not sure how Rachel manages to figure when they all had "Paperwork Days" but he's happy to have his baby girl with him whenever possible. Grace also loved doing her homework there and Danny was infinitely grateful that Steve was a very patient teacher.

Danny can see them outside the window of his office and stifles a chuckle. Spooky, the new girl, is sitting next to Grace. With her black hair in those ridiculous-looking twin buns, which, combined with her height and slight build, made her look even younger than Kono, Spooky looks just like another little girl instead of the adult she actually is. Add a few sleeping bags, some popcorn and candy and it was going to be a regular slumber party out there.

"Twilight should only be read by any girl who retains enough common sense to _not_ look for creepy, stalker-y, sparkly Edward Cullens of their very own?" Spooky offers sheepishly. "You gotta admit, Twilight is sweet…. you just have to make sure you regulate your daily dose of sugary reading!"

Danny snorts. He really shouldn't be listening – he's trying to get his paperwork done. But he can't help but overhear the conversation and give silent thanks to God and all His Saints for Gracie evidently inheriting the common sense from the Williams' side of the family.

"Edward Cullen is _not_ cute," Grace opines. "He looks like a Neanderthal! A sparkly one!"

Kono and Spooky giggle. Danny himself is trying not to laugh.

"A sparkly Neanderthal – nice one, Gracie-girl!" Kono cheers. Danny can see her and Grace exchanging high-fives.

"Okay, so who gets your vote for cool, non-sparkly, good-looking vampire, Kono?" Spooky asks.

"Mick St. John," Kono answers promptly.

" _Moonlight_!" Spooky squeals in evident recognition. Danny is going to have to check his eardrums soon. He's only thankful that Steve, lucky bastard, is again out on a food run for the rest of the team. Chin, of course, has had enough sense to barricade himself in his own office and had a set of earphones with him when he did. The man is probably zoned out to music at this point, happily content in his little universe of Zen.

"Mommy loves that show too!" Grace volunteers. Danny snorts again. That explains everything.

"It was too bad it got cancelled after one season," Kono says wistfully. "But Mick gets my vote. I mean, just _look at him_." Evidently, Kono is using the office computer to browse for pictures of whoever this Mick guy is online. Not that Danny's going to say anything about that – he, Chin and Steve are known to indulge in a few games of HALO and Call of Duty.

Spooky starts laughing. "Oh. My. God. Kono, Grace… he looks like…."

This from Kono, who has burst into laughter as well. "No way!"

"He does too! Mick's just got the emo hair and the whole no-tan thing going on but _look at him!"_

"Ohmigod, you're right…"

Grace giggles. "Now we know what we're going to ask Uncle Steve to dress up as on Halloween!"

Uh-oh. This did _not_ sound good. Danny should really do what all good partners would be doing at this point – stride outside, join the conversation and nip his baby girl's newest plan of mischief in the bud. Then again, Danny Williams is also a sane, sensible man, who's at least somewhat wise in the ways of women.

The choice is easy to make, right?

********

Steve is terribly cute when he's bewildered.

He adores Grace too much to give her a Death Glare but he's not above using it on Kono, who's already immune or Spooky, who's doing a poor job of looking suitably intimidated.

"I'm going as a _what_ for Halloween?"

"Not a _what_ , but a _who_ , Uncle Steve," Grace corrects him primly. "You can go as Mick St. John. He's a vampire and he looks an awful lot like you!"

Steve sputters. "I am _not_ going to play some sparkly emo vampire from Twilight!"

"It's _Moonlight!"_ All three girls chorus.

"And the vampires in Moonlight don't sparkle!" Grace pipes up.

"Still emo, though," Kono offers helpfully.

"The emo thing works for Mick anyway," Spooky adds. "So cute…."

Spooky, Kono and Grace all sigh dreamily.

Steve sends a desperate look at Chin's way but the older man holds his hands up. "Sorry, _brah_ , I'm out of this."

And then, Steve sends Danny a Look that eloquently asks: _What the hell were you doing while this was going down?_

Danny tries not to let the guilt show. "Babe, they ganged up on me. I was hog-tied, thrown to the ground, outnumbered, overpowered…"

"In other words, you caved like a puss –"

" _Language!"_ All three girls chorus yet again.

"What they said," Danny tells him helpfully.

Swearing in some language Danny's not too familiar with until Spooky snickers, "Really, Bossman, you know _Tagalog_ too?" Steve throws up his hands in surrender and flees for the safety of his office.

Of course, Danny's not going to admit that he ended up thinking that Steve would make a _great_ Mick St. John for Halloween too…

* * *

 **PART I**

It turns out that Spooky has a knack for cosplay – at least that was how the kids called "dressing up in costumes" these days.

Okay, Danny was a parent – he was entitled to feel like the only adult in this current bout of craziness they were all engaged in.

Spooky's in this odd, Gothic, Alice-in-Wonderland or Victorian-era dress that makes her look like one of those antique dolls that used to belong to Danny's grandmother. In concession to the heat, the material was light and her sleeves and skirt were short and puffy and she had on sensible black lace-up boots. Apparently, Spooky's going as some sort of obscure Japanese cartoon character.

Chin got lucky – the girls had decided he would make a great Asian version of Indiana Jones and thus was perfectly content with _his_ get-up. Danny didn't want to think about where he got the whip though. Of course, Kono went as Lara Croft and looked perfectly kick-ass, if not as generously endowed as Angelina Jolie. Danny was _not_ going to make any comments about _that_ because he liked his balls where they were, thank you very much.

Danny's baby girl was beautiful in her cute little gypsy outfit, decked out in red and black, with costume jewelry sparkling in her hair and bangles clinking on her arms. Naturally, she found kindred spirits in Kono and Spooky who dolled her up, not to mention Rachel, who was pretty enthusiastic about seeing her daughter "look so adorable!"

Since Steve was going as a vampire, the girls all decided that it would be absolutely _hilarious_ if Danny went as Van Helsing – the Hugh Jackman version. They went slightly lighter on the costume, ditching the long leather coat which would have cooked Danny even in the relatively mild weather on the islands. Danny looked more like a classic Western gunslinger and Steve _definitely_ appreciated the look.

Thankfully, Mick St. John was a "modern" vampire so there wasn't any need to break out the Regency-era costumes… though there were a few mournful comments that Steve would've made a dashing-looking Highwayman. Said wistful commentators did _not,_ repeat, _not_ include one Jersey detective. Mick St. John was known to dress well and of course, black was _de rigeur_ for good-looking emo vampires.

So there were a few things that everyone learned about Steve in the course of this foray into madness.

Now, Danny had known that Steve _did_ keep a surprising amount of well-tailored suits in his closet. He didn't look at them too closely since Steve normally eschewed any semblance of formal or business wear and ran around Hawaii in his normal cargo pants and t-shirt, unless they had to go undercover and were required to dress up. That is, unless Steve decided that today was another day ending in "-y" and that meant he had to take his shirt off for some reason. What _nobody_ expected was that Steve definitely knew his labels. Danny goggled at what he'd found – Armani, Dolce  & Gabbana, Gucci… it was absolutely staggering.

" _That's a hell of a lot of hazard pay, Bossman," Kono gaped._

Of course, Danny's giant, good-looking, secret clotheshorse goofball of a boyfriend shrugged it off. Steve had no intention of getting blood and dirt on his good suits, thank you very much.

Also, Danny's boyfriend was something of a hopeless wuss when it came to a certain little girl and the ladies of the team (not that Danny himself was any better), so he reluctantly agreed to grow his hair out a little instead of having to don a wig. Steve's hair grew surprisingly quickly so he actually needed to go for a trim often to keep up to regulation standards.

" _Don't get used to this," Steve grumbled to Danny. "I am getting all this hacked off the minute Halloween is over."_

" _Mm-hmm," Danny said absently, fingers threading through the soft, wavy curls at the back of Steve's neck._

" _I mean it!" Steve said, even as he leaned into the touch with a sigh, eyes half-closing._

" _Yes, dear, anything you say, dear," Danny said, not stopping the soothing strokes. "This is fun, you realize. I'm getting you to purr, you big ol' kitty, you."_

" _Mrrr…?" Steve said sleepily, turning his head into Danny's palm and pressing a kiss there._

 _Of course, Danny decided that the next couple of quiet and private hours they had would be best spent in discovering other ways to make Steve purr._

There was also no such thing as a tanned vampire but it was to Steve's everlasting relief and gratitude that all of them were in agreement that they were not going to allow Steve to run about as a "sparkly" one. So Kono broke out the make-up so that she could get Steve to achieve the requisite pallor.

Then, she and Spooky took one look at Steve's eyes – which were a very dark, almost cobalt blue today and the pale make-up was accentuating the fact that the man had ridiculously long eyelashes – and Kono said: "Eyeliner!"

Spooky clapped her hands with glee. "Mascara!"

Steve balked. "No way in hell!"

"Girls," Danny said mildly. "You realize he's not a live Ken doll you can play dress-up with?"

"Live, anatomically-correct Ken doll to be more precise," Kono snickered. "And thank you, Danny, for giving us permission!"

"Hey!" Steve protested. "Still in the room here! I am not having that stuff put on my eyes."

"Don't move, Bossman!" Spooky pleaded. "You do _not_ want to get poked by that eyeliner pencil!"

"Daddy," Grace asked. "What's anatomically correct?"

"I'll tell you when you're older, Monkey," Danny said quickly. "Maybe when you're about 30 or so."

"Chin," Steve said desperately. "She's _your_ cousin! Do something!"

"Don't worry about it, _brah_ ," said Chin. "I'm just glad she's not playing dress-up with _me_ anymore. I don't look like the _Lost_ guy, no matter what you say, 'cuz!"

The plan was that they would accompany Grace on her trick and treating and then, they would be taking her to the Governor's Halloween Ball, which was being held for all police officers _and_ their families. Stan was hosting a Halloween party for his business associates at his house and while Rachel would have made time for Grace and trick or treating, it was infinitely better to have an active, sugar-high child with her doting and energetic _ohana_.

It helped that Rachel and Danny were finally settling down as co-parents, which worked remarkably better for them instead of being husband and wife. Danny's ex was now far more open to having Danny share custody of Grace, rather than just have visitation rights. It was Grace herself who wanted more time with her father, Steve and her honorary set of uncles and aunts.

Danny had to admit that Steve looked pretty damn good once the girls were done with him. Spooky had also gotten Steve fangs and the requisite contact lenses. Apparently, the little detective had buddies working in theater and movies. With some urging, Steve did try the things on and proved that he had a flair for the dramatic after all, making for a rather convincing vampire. He'd growled and lunged for Kono first, who promptly squealed and laughing, ran for dear life and then Steve playfully lunged for Grace.

Grace shrieked with glee and hid behind her Danno, crying out, "Save me, Dr. Van Helsing!"

Danny…er… "Van Helsing," proved to be totally cool when confronted with a maniacally grinning vampire Steve. "Don't make me stake you, you non-sparkly fanged Neanderthal."

"Oh noes!" Steve said melodramatically, clutching at his heart. "Killed by Jersey sarcasm. It burns! Oh, the agony! ARGH!"

"Okay, that's it – we're signing him up for acting lessons," Kono decided, nudging Spooky. She paused and took a closer look at the other woman, who'd suddenly gone stark white. "Hey, you okay there?"

Spooky had been staring at Steve and something in her eyes made the hairs on the back of Danny's neck stand on end. After all the teasing and the joking around and the girls swooning over Steve, Spooky's frightened, stricken expression would take anyone by surprise.

"Hey," Danny said. "He may be a dead ringer for that Mick St. John guy but Steve's not _that_ good an actor!"

Spooky blinked and shook her head. "Oh. Jesus. That's not it. Never mind – I'm just letting my imagination get away with me, that's all."

Steve had removed the fangs and the contact lenses and was now regarding her with concern as well. "You feeling all right?"

She managed a smile and waved a hand dismissively. "Eh. It's nothing. Hey, it's time for candy, right, Grace?"

"Yeah!" The little girl cheered.

* * *

 _  
 **Interlude: All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter…**  
_

 _Listen. This is the tale as it was told to me._

 _Once upon a time, there was a Prince and his story was lost and forgotten._

 _I know, you're asking – if this Prince's story was lost, then how do I know it now? Listen, listen well and you'll understand why I am one of the very few who remember._

 _And once I'm done, you'll need to remember this too._

 _The Prince was born in a time of Great Endings and Beginnings. A grand adventure had just ended, a Dark Enemy overthrown and the Prince's father, was one of the heroes of this fine tale. He was a King who had finally stepped up to reclaim his heritage, to take up the crown left by his forefathers and reunite the sundered kingdoms in the land once more under his rule._

 _The King's bride was the fairest of all Elf-maidens born since Luthien the Nightingale. Their love was true and had endured through many long years of trial and sorrow. Great was everyone's joy when they were wed and greater still when a son was finally born to them._

 _So you can imagine – a Crown Prince, an heir to the throne of the Reunited Kingdoms. This Prince would grow up to be a fine young man, fairest of all the Princes ever born to his bloodline, for his mother, of course, was the most beautiful lady in all the lands. And of course, he possessed many of his father's graces as well. His parents loved him dearly and raised him to be both good and wise, that he would be worthy of his father's crown._

 _And he was. He came to the throne in a time of peace and plenty. He tried to rule wisely and well and his subjects loved him dearly._

 _And perhaps you would think that nothing happened of note during his reign and perhaps that's the reason why there are no thrilling tales, no great stories to be told._

 _You would be wrong._

* * *

 **PART II**

Danny was prepared to chalk this year's Halloween as a success in his book.

His baby girl was blissed out on candy and she had managed to score the mother of all candy hauls. Danny noticed that Grace tended to walk away with more candy if _Steve_ was the one standing with her at the door. The math was pretty simple:

Cute Little Girl plus Cute _Not-So-Little_ Boy meant that Resistance Was Futile.

Danny did his level best to manage his daughter's sugar intake. In the meantime, Grace was generous enough to share part of her considerable haul with the rest of the team, with a sizable portion for her Uncle Steve, who was perfectly happy to be the Mysterious Madam Gracie's Faithful Non-Sparkly Vampire Assistant.

Steve on a sugar-high was comedy gold. Danny made sure that he'd taken plenty of pictures of his daughter and partner to share with his family back on the mainland. He'd be holding this over Steve's head for _months!_ Not that Kono and the others were any better.

Well, they all deserved the chance to relax and have some fun for a change. They had been working hard for the better part of the year, overcoming the stigma of being associated with Jameson's dubious administration, Steve's near-disastrous actions over learning her real relationship with Wo Fat and Internal Affairs just lying in wait for all of them to make one more wrong move so they could close in and end Five-0. It didn't help that it took a long time for the new Governor to even come close to warming up to them and only because he had every desire to win the upcoming elections and secure his position.

The Governor had also apparently gone all out for his Halloween ball. The ball was being held at this newly opened club with the odd name of "Club Denial." The club overlooked the beach and they'd put up tents to accommodate the crowd. Somebody had gotten clever and had set things up in such a way that the whole venue looked like a haunted house. The kids loved it and little ones were running all over the place, watched over by the indulgent eyes of the entire Honolulu Police Department, not to mention the Club's staff. The music was pretty good – somebody in a pirate costume was doing a Bon Jovi cover when they'd arrived and wasn't half bad at it.

Spooky squealed when she saw the club's owner. "Uncle Morrie!"

Huh. Apparently, she knew the guy.

The man smiled and walked over to their group. Spooky introduced him as Morris Bauman – apparently, he was handling the hosting duties in the Governor's stead. There was something about Bauman that Danny couldn't put his finger on but he just wasn't sure what that was. Morris Bauman didn't come off as the typical slick, smooth-talking fellow Danny would expect to be running places like this. He was a tall, well-dressed man, possibly in his early 40s, with dark hair, a calm demeanor and a sharp, observant gaze.

 _A man of respect,_ Danny thought and abruptly remembered one of his grandfathers. Grandpa Vito Corleone was both well-respected and well-loved in the old neighborhood back in the day, never mind the whispers about "the Family business" which his Uncle Michael handled now. Bauman was something like that, without going straight over into bad Mafia movie territory.

Danny _really_ didn't want to think too closely about Uncle Michael and the business on _that_ side of his large, crazy family.

Bauman greeted them congenially enough although Danny didn't miss the subtle double-take he did when he first saw Steve. Danny didn't miss the look he shot Spooky, either. Or the way his eyes kept flicking back to Steve the entire time they were talking.

"I need a singer tonight, Spooky-girl," Bauman said. "I'd gotten Met—er… I mean, _Adam_ to do the next set but he's running a bit late. You feel up to it?"

"I'll be there with bells on, Morrie," Spooky said cheerfully enough. At the very interested looks from the rest of the team, she blushed and said, "Um – I sing part time?"

"She's done a good job covering for us," Bauman said easily. "Enjoy yourselves – there's a lot of stuff here for the kids right now but we've got something for everyone." He and Spooky excused themselves and walked on over to the stage.

Danny could see what he meant. Most of the kids were sensibly jumping, climbing and running all over the designated play areas – there were a couple of those huge, blow-up castles where kids could slide right into those pits with the rubber balls in them.

Naturally, Grace took one look at them and then Danny was assaulted by _three_ pairs of puppy eyes – Grace, Steve _and_ Kono.

Danny tried, he really did. "Steve, babe, you realize you're not allowed to play in those things right?"

"Silly Danno – Steve and Kono are gonna watch over me!" Grace said indignantly.

"What she said!" Steve said, with his megawatt goofy grin on. "Also, I'm taking pictures."

"Face it, Other-Boss," Kono cackled. "You're outnumbered!"

"Go, go – we grown-ups are gonna grab a drink and enjoy ourselves like sensible people, right, Chin?"

Chin shrugged. "I don't know – the playground looks mighty tempting."

Danny threw up his hands in exasperation. As usual, he was the only sane person in the group.

Danny wandered over to the bar – he wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to get a beer and maybe something to eat that wasn't sugary. He'd be joining the others soon enough; it wasn't as if he could bear to be parted from his Monkey's company for very long. But for the moment, he took some time to check out this club.

Just like its owner, there was something about the place that scratched at Danny's cop instincts. Danny was good with words but for once, he just couldn't find a way to put a name or description on how he felt. It wasn't a sense of danger, obviously – he wouldn't have let Grace get a mile of this place if that were the case.

It was just _odd._

There was something about the Club's staff that was just plain _weird_. Danny knew who the cops were and everyone was in costume. It was kind of funny how many secret geeks were there in the police force – the number of Jedi, Starfleet officers and other fantasy characters wandering about, aside from the traditional spooks, was just staggering.

So Danny checked out this tiny redhead in the samurai gear watching cheerfully over the kids. High ponytail, magenta kimono and those white skirt-like pants, delicate girlish features and unusual violet eyes – Danny would've taken him for a girl. Honestly, what sane guy wears _magenta?_ But he looked closer and no, this one was definitely a man, albeit a very pretty one. The kids loved him – he had this sweet, happy expression that reminded Danny very strongly of Steve and pretty much the same gentle manner with the children.

Also, there was one thing – he was apparently carrying a real, honest-to-god samurai sword. Danny could tell from the way he moved and the way the thing seemed to have _weight_ rather than appear like one of those flimsy movie props.

And then, there were the _bouncers._

Again, these were two guys in samurai gear – all black, this time and Danny made a mental note to check if this Morris Bauman character had _Yakuza_ connections. Nothing in Spooky's background made them think she could be a dirty cop but it wasn't unheard of for cops to have their own contacts in the criminal underworld. One of the samurai boys had _orange_ hair, of all the crazy things and what looked like this huge-ass sword from one of those Japanese cartoons or video games. Everyone thought it was a prop and commented on it.

Danny was dead sure it wasn't but hell if he knew how this kid could carry the goddamn thing on his back.

The other guy's sword looked a little closer to normal but he too had red hair set up in a spiky ponytail and an interesting set of tattoos on his forehead. Danny had to hand it to them – they were watching the people and the doors, alert for any sign of trouble.

Danny was suddenly certain that all of the samurai guys weren't in costume at all.

Without realizing it, Danny had drifted towards the end of the long bar and closer to the stage. Spooky was right there in a secluded corner, in the middle of talking to Bauman. Danny didn't _mean_ to eavesdrop but he'd always had sharp ears so it was kind of easy to pick out the conversation.

"Tell me I didn't just see who I think I'm seeing," Bauman was telling the little detective.

"Oh hell," Spooky swore. It was kind of funny to hear her say anything remotely resembling bad language, given as she barely looked old enough to get a drink at a bar. "You couldn't just tell me it was all just my imagination, Morrie?"

Steve – they _had_ to be talking about Steve. Bauman had been looking at Steve that whole time they were all getting acquainted.

"I wish _I_ could say it was my imagination. But Fred's seen the lad and he's fairly delighted to have one of the family so close by. Bloody Elf's going to be insufferable for _months!"_

Elf?

Spooky sighed. "I can't believe I didn't see it before. But I guess the whole modern look threw me off or maybe I wasn't meant to figure it out at that time. And that's what worries _me_. And I figure it out today, of all days. This is _not_ good, Morrie."

"Now this time you're reading too much into things, little girl," Bauman said wryly. "Don't go begging for trouble. And the lad hasn't even a clue who and what he is. He's also not likely to ever figure that out… if he's lucky."

Spooky smiled wanly. "I hope so. He's got enough on his plate as it is."

Bauman snorted. "The entire _family's_ made up of trouble magnets. The hero thing seems to be embedded in their DNA apparently, all the way to Beren One-Hand himself."

Spooky shrugged. "What can I say? We'll keep him safe anyway."

" _We?_ You're the one who's poised to be in the right place at the right time!"

" _Ohana_ , Morrie – you're part of it now, like it or not!" Spooky said, finally laughing for real.

"Manwe's balls…"

Okay. What. The. Fuck.

"Oi! Y'want to order a drink anytime soon? Other people are waitin' on ya, cowboy," said the bartender.

Danny was still reeling from that odd conversation and the fact that his internal Weird-O-Meter started pinging like crazy. He was kind of thankful that the bartender brought him back to earth. Just a little bit.

And then, Danny got a really good look at that bartender.

The man looked _years_ younger, spoke with an unmistakable Cockney accent and had god-awful platinum blonde hair that was definitely from a bottle but Danny was prepared to swear up and down that he was talking to Victor Hesse.

The bartender gave him a toothy grin. "Hey, mate, you look like you've seen a ghost, eh?"

Victor Hesse was supposed to be _dead_. Just how many lives did the son of a bitch have anyway?

"He's not who you think he is," said another young man tending bar. Again, he was definitely English. He looked barely out of adolescence with bright green eyes behind round-rimmed glasses and messy black hair. "Honestly, he's not. He's not the man you're looking for."

"You doin' the Jedi Mind trick there, Harry?" the Victor Hesse clone laughed. "It doesn't look like it's working!"

"Oh bloody hell," Harry sighed. "Go on, scare the Muggle half to death while I try to save your arse, Spike."

" _Spike?_ I refuse to believe your parents actually picked that name out for you," Danny challenged, finally managing to find his voice. "And if you are Victor Hesse and that's your alias – it's the lamest thing I ever heard."

Spike narrowed his eyes. "Mouthy little bugger, aren't ya?"

Harry facepalmed. "He's not this Victor guy – he's Spike. And Spike, don't piss off the copper, for the love of Merlin. If you look like somebody on the Police's Most Wanted list, you don't want to tempt fate, okay?"

"No way," the Victor Hesse clone – _Spike? –_ laughed. "I gotta be better lookin' than my criminal twin!"

Harry glared at him. "How'd you like to spend the rest of Halloween as a bloody ferret, you prat – I'm sure Buffy will thank me for the peace and quiet it'll bring."

"Okay, I am dreaming," Danny interjected. "Somebody put something in the candy or the drink I had and I am dreaming. Except that I haven't even had a piece of candy or a freakin' beer!"

"Have one on the house then," said Spike agreeably, pushing a Longboard in his direction. He slanted Danny a cheeky, genuine grin that went a long way towards soothing Danny's frazzled nerves.

Danny stared at the bottle - which was unopened – and then raised a brow at Spike.

Spike rolled his eyes. "For Chrissakes, it's not poisoned, ok? There are folks here who'd have my head if I wasted a good beer." He handed Danny a bottle opener.

Danny snorted even as he popped off the cap and took a good long swallow. Despite the uncanny resemblance, Danny knew he had to pay attention to the little details. Unlike Hesse, Spike looked years younger and was missing a couple of facial scars – one delivered by Steve himself. He even moved differently and evidently, he was a bit fond of the whole punk rock / Sid Vicious look.

"Bribing an officer's not gonna get you anywhere," Danny quipped.

Spike chuckled even as it was Harry's turn to turn his gaze heavenwards. "For the sake of my co-worker's blood pressure and your own peace of mind, Officer, I been a right proper law-abiding citizen and have been for years. And – _oh, bloody hell –"_

"Shite," Harry swore. "Gatecrashers."

Danny followed the direction of their gaze. There were a set of vampire wannabes who came in – giggling and evidently punch-drunk. Danny shouldn't have been worried – this was a party full of cops and the two samurai bouncer guys were already stepping in to take care of business.

"Huh, figures the Shinigami boys came in useful after all," Spike observed wryly.

"I dare you to say that again to Ichigo's face," Harry returned. "That's not just an oversized kitchen knife he's carrying, you realize."

But Danny could see one "vampire" break away from the pack and start walking into the club like he owned the place. This vampire had gone for the whole period costume look, decked out in satin and lace, powdered wig and beauty mark on his pale face.

"Somebody overdosed on their Anne Rice," Danny muttered after he took a much-needed drink.

"Christ, I hate those," Spike muttered. "Fucking posers."

Harry's eyes were narrowed, watching the gatecrasher. Unfortunately, the bouncers hadn't noticed that one had gotten away. The "vampire" looked very much like he was deep into his role, working the whole "beautiful, deadly predator" deal for all it was worth.

"What do you think, Spike?" Harry asked.

Spike snorted. "Can't expect me to tell anything from all the bloody people in this Club, can I?"

Danny stared at them both. "What, you two are telling me that he could be dangerous?"

Truth – there was something about the vampire poser that didn't sit right with Danny. Then again, the idiot just walked into a club filled with cops _and_ their families. He was just _asking_ to get his ass handed to him.

Harry looked evasive. "You get those sometimes – blokes who take the whole vampire role-playing thing a bit too far. Pain the arse, really – hate it when we have those."

And then, Spike burst out laughing. "I'll be damned – he's heading for the pretty one, of course."

Harry looked. "Huh. Mick St. John, eh?"

Spike hooted. "You watch that poncy _Moonlight_ show too? Wait till I tell Snapercup that!"

Danny almost choked on his beer. _Of course_ Count Whackula was heading for the one main trouble magnet in the room. "Steve?"

Danny knew perfectly well that Steve was no stranger to getting hit on by women or men. He normally fended that off with a disinterested smile and a polite variation of "Thanks but no thanks." Often, he was pretty nice about it and Danny finally understood _why_ Steve had been christened with the "Smooth Dog" moniker.

Of course, Danny had initially thought that the "Smooth Dog" nickname that Steve apparently went by as a SEAL was some kind of ironic joke. Lord only knew how Steve could be an Epic Fail on his basic mammal to mammal skills. Except that every now and then, Steve could suddenly, _inexplicably_ turn on the charm and people would be falling all over him, rushing to follow his every whim.

It was the smile, Danny knew. It got them every damn time.

Steve was _not_ smiling when the vampire poser approached him.

At that point, Danny started moving, leaving Spike and Harry behind. He just knew that trouble was brewing.

He could read it in the tense set of Steve's shoulders and the fact that instead of the typical calm, polite, disinterested manner he projected towards people trying to flirt with him, Danny could see that he was beginning to show all the classic signs of flight or fight response.

Knowing Steve, he was definitely leaning towards the "fight" part of that equation.

The vampire poser was far too much in Steve's personal space and ignoring the very obvious efforts that Steve was making to keep him at a distance. He was maintaining direct eye contact with Steve and reached up with a hand to stroke Steve's cheek, the large ruby red ring on his finger catching the light. Steve caught him mid-gesture and Danny could hear the growled warning. The vampire poser laughed – apparently he was trying the whole Dracula hypnosis thing, the way he kept on gazing hungrily into Steve's eyes.

Shit, this guy was just overflowing with the clichés, right?

And then, the vampire wannabe went flying, crashing into a nearby table with a satisfying crunch.

Kids screamed. The little redheaded samurai guy who seemed to be playing the Club's playground monitor started herding the little ones away to safety, with some help from the parents who were present. The two bouncers in the black samurai outfits at the door also came running.

And of course, Danny was where he was supposed to be, right next to his partner.

Steve's eyes were very pale, almost the color of those vampire contacts that Spooky had given him though Danny knew he hadn't put them on.

"Book 'im, Danno," Steve snarled. "He was threatening Gracie."

 _What?_ Swearing up a storm on his own, Danny didn't need to be told twice and the cops who were sitting at the table the vampire poser had crashed into stood up and had the idiot cuffed immediately. _Nobody_ threatened Danny's baby girl, even as a fucking joke by some Dracula wannabe.

The vampire poser managed a sinister smile, even though he was visibly winded by Steve's punch. "I was only jesting. Arrest me – you'll have no idea what you're unleashing, my lovely one."

He doubled over as Danny socked him right in the stomach. The cops holding the vamp carefully looked away, not bothering to hide the smirks. The guy threatened a kid, one of their own, to boot. _Nobody_ was going to call out Steve or Danny about that.

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking – I'll make sure you get a nice even tan once the sun comes up," Danny told him. "Get this fuckhead out of here!"

" _Wait."_

The command in that voice was very clear and even the cops hauling the wannabe away found themselves stopping in their tracks. Morris Bauman was striding over, face impassive and cold. He stood in front of the wannabe and lifted the latter's chin up, the better to look him directly in the eye.

They could all see the wannabe jerk and freeze in abject fear.

"I see," Bauman said in a quiet, even voice that was all the more terrifying because of its lack of emotion. "You are not welcome here. Do not darken my doors again. This is your first and last warning." He stepped back and nodded at the cops who dragged the obviously fear-stricken wannabe vampire away.

Bauman turned to them all but he was looking directly at Steve when he spoke next. "This is a safe place. We do not tolerate troublemakers nor will we permit any danger to anyone who comes here. You have my word on that, Commander."

There was something odd, almost formal in the way that Bauman spoke to Steve and for the barest moment, Bauman's eyes gleamed red.

 _The Great Enemy_ , Danny thought suddenly and he frowned at himself. Now where the hell did that come from? He found himself blinking as Morris Bauman shot him a wry little smile.

"I'll hold you to that, Mr. Bauman," Steve told the Club's owner.

Bauman shrugged. "It's just Morrie now, Commander. You and your _ohana_ will always be welcome and safe here."

"Then call me Steve," Steve answered. "And thanks for the offer."

Bauman – _Morrie –_ gave him another one of those wry grins. He raised his voice. "Party's not yet over, people! Stick around for the band; I'll be playing tonight!"

Grace came running towards them and Danny scooped her up in his arms, relieved that his baby was safe. She couldn't be anything else, not with Kono right behind her and Chin also on his way. Even Spooky had gone down from the stage and was headed in their direction.

They all knew what was coming. They could hold the vampire guy overnight but unless they turned up anything else on the idiot, they'd have to let him go. And they were going to be very _thorough_ in checking this guy out – nothing and _nobody_ was allowed to threaten Grace.

"Is that your Aneurysm Face, Uncle Steve?" Grace asked, looking at him critically.

Danny snorted. "See, what did I tell you, babe? Even my Monkey sees it!"

He was glad that this last remark made Steve snort out a laugh. He could tell that Steve wanted to hold Grace for a little while and it always warmed him to see how much Steve loved his baby girl. Grace could tell too and whispered in his ear, "Danno, wanna go to Steve."

As Danny handed over his precious daughter, he took the time to ask his partner, "You okay, babe?"

Steve nodded wordlessly even as he mouthed the word _Later._ Danny was going to hold him to that.

* * *

 _  
 **Interlude: Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost…**  
_

 _There is a story about a Sleeping Princess and the Prince who wakes her from her enchanted sleep._

 _It's a tale that has been passed on through the generations and in the way of most tales, details have been changed, twisted or exaggerated. And it's a tale that plays out many, many times in different times and places and with different people._

 _But the first, the truest story was this._

 _They found the Sleeping Princess in the ruins of the Necromancer's dungeons in the tenth year of the new King's reign. She was fairer than silver or ivory or pearls. They knew not her name nor her history. There were no records that they could find to explain her presence there in that dark and terrible place._

 _And it was true, that the young King woke her with a kiss. Of course he would believe that he loved her, fair and beautiful as she was, prisoner of the Necromancer who'd been destroyed long before he was born. And perhaps it could have ended there, when the young King gave her breath and the first taste of life after so many years of living death._

 _She might have loved him._

 _She might have been his Queen._

 _But her need for vengeance was greater._

 _And she was a Queen – the last Queen of Numenor, Tar-Miriel. She should have been its rightful ruler had she not been forced into marriage by her power-mad cousin. For so many long ages, they had thought her lost, the last to die when Numenor sank beneath the waves of the sea, brought down by the wrath of the One._

 _But Tar-Miriel had, with her last breath, had forsaken the One and the Valar and gave herself utterly to the Darkness. She swore vengeance upon the world of the living but most especially on the bloodline of Elendil and the Faithful who had escaped Numenor's destruction, leaving her to her fate. So she escaped from the wreck of Numenor in the end, caught between life and death, sustained by her hate and her need for blood._

 _In the young King, fairest of all of Elendil's bloodline, she thought she finally had her chance for revenge._

* * *

 **PART III**

Spooky O'Connor was telling a story.

Most people usually forgot what her real name was ("For the nth time, it's _Isabel_ but don't spazz over it, okay?") but she got the nickname for a couple of reasons. The first reason was that she had excellent instincts and was known to act on these weird, out-of-this-world hunches which eventually led her to getting good leads and solving the case. The other reason was that Spooky pretty much was a walking encyclopedia of supernatural minutiae (This from Steve: "Really, Danno? _Minutiae?"),_ which kind of went hand in hand with the cute little Goth girl image she cultivated.

They should've gone home after the unpleasantness with the vampire guy. But Grace was hungry and the food being offered was pretty good, served by these small, round-faced little fellows with curly hair and huge feet.

(Danny had a right to say _small_ – these guys were even shorter than he was!)

So they stayed, mainly because Grace needed to have something in her that wasn't sugar-based and also because Steve was still looking a little bit freaked-out. Grace didn't mind sitting between her father and Steve and it was both funny and touching how Grace somehow managed to do a credible impression of her Grandma Williams and made Steve take more than just a few bites of his food.

"Eat, eat – how you gonna take care of my Danno, you don't eat?" Grace scolded him.

"Aye-aye, Commander Gracie!" Steve said dutifully, lips twitching in an effort not to grin.

"Is it just me or should I be hearing 'how you gonna catch a husband, you don't eat?'" Chin observed wryly.

"Steve's already caught Danny so it's kinda moot, cuz," Kono quipped.

"Damn straight," Danny said smugly.

"You don't ever get tempted to throw him back into the ocean, Bossman?" Kono joked.

"HEY!"

Steve smiled goofily. "Never. I'm keeping him!"

"That's so sweet," Spooky giggled.

"Danno's turning pink!" Grace chortled.

It was surprising how the atmosphere in the Club turned warm and welcoming again. As promised, Morris Bauman played the piano with his partner Fred on the coronet. Danny wasn't a huge jazz fan but they were _good_ and Fred was definitely very easy on both the eyes and the ears.

And then, Spooky got dragged into telling the kids a story – the final bit on the programme for them before their grateful parents would take them home. Apparently, the person tasked to play storyteller for Halloween wasn't able to make it so Spooky got tapped.

And she delivered, starting off with one of those short, funny ghost stories that was designed to make kids jump and giggle.

Then, things got _strange._

Spooky got this odd, faraway expression and her eyes seemed to glaze over. Her voice took on a lilting, musical quality as she began to recite this story of an ancient Prince from a lost and forgotten kingdom. Danny knew most of the popular myths and legends and this sounded like it came from the legendarium of _The Lord of the Rings._

"… _This Prince would grow up to be a fine young man, fairest of all the Princes ever born to his bloodline, for his mother, of course, was the most beautiful lady in all the lands. And of course, he possessed many of his father's graces as well. His parents loved him dearly and raised him to be both good and wise, that he would be worthy of his father's crown…"_

There were elements of other classic fairy tales in there too – the Prince waking the sleeping princess with a kiss. Except that the Princess was apparently some Queen turned evil sorceress or vampire and was actually out for revenge.

"… _But Tar-Miriel had, with her last breath, had forsaken the One and the Valar and gave herself utterly to the Darkness. She swore vengeance upon the world of the living but most especially on the bloodline of Elendil and the Faithful who had escaped Numenor's destruction, leaving her to her fate. So she escaped from the wreck of Numenor in the end, caught between life and death, sustained by her hate and her need for blood. In the young King, fairest of all of Elendil's bloodline, she thought she finally had her chance for revenge…"_

For some reason, the hairs on the back of Danny's neck stood straight up and he chanced to glance at Steve, who had been riveted by the story as everyone else in the audience.

Steve had turned stark white and he was actually beginning to shake. He mumbled an excuse and abruptly left their table.

Kono didn't even hesitate. "Go on, Danny – we'll look after Grace."

Of course, Danny found Steve in the restroom, standing in front of the sink with the water running. His face was wet and Danny knew it was only because it would help explain away the suspicious moisture in his eyes. Danny's not fooled though. He didn't like what he was seeing – not one bit. Steve was far too pale and he knew perfectly well that wasn't Kono's expert make-up.

He gently ran a hand over his partner's stiff back. "You okay, babe?"

"Fine," Steve gritted out, wiping his face with a paper towel.

"Which means Freaked Out, Insecure and Neurotic in McGarret-Speak," Danny said practically. "Look, babe, is this about Count Whackula? Because I promise you, we're gonna sift that guy through and he's not gonna even want to _think_ about looking at another vampire movie once we're done with him."

Steve took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's not that. At least, not really. Spooky's story… I don't know… I don't know how to explain it." He raised his hands helplessly.

If it had been any other time, Danny might have teased Steve about it. Instead, he very gently framed Steve's face with his hands, making the taller man look directly at him. "What is it about Spooky's story that's freaking you out?"

Steve sighed again. His eyes were gray this time and oddly haunted. "It's _familiar_ to me. I don't know how or why. Like a nightmare that I can't wake up from." He shivered. "And everything is so _cold_ and _dark_ …"

Danny drew Steve close, let the taller man bury his face in Danny's neck. He felt Steve press a kiss at the pulse point just beneath his ear and he in turn kissed the other man just beneath the perfect curve of his jaw. At any other time, this might have been the prelude to other, more pleasurable activities but right now Steve just needed the comfort and the warmth. He was actually _freezing_ and Danny knew perfectly well that it wasn't that cold in the Club.

The moment ended all too soon when they heard a knock on the restroom door. "Steve? Danny?"

It's Chin and there's a tone in his voice that they rarely ever hear. Chin actually sounded rattled and Chin is rarely ever shaken out of his Zen-like calm.

"What's wrong, Chin?" Steve asked.

"It's Spooky."

* * *

They found Spooky in Morrie Bauman's office, laid out on the couch.

The tiny detective was unconscious. Spooky had finished her story and then, had gone over to the bar when she fainted. Luckily, she was on the other side of the bar when it happened – the rest of the guests didn't see her. Apparently, one of the bartenders brought her to Morrie's office while the other one alerted Chin and Kono.

Danny was going to guess that the one who carried Spooky in was Spike because he was fairly sure that Chin and Kono would have freaked out considerably if the Victor Hesse-lookalike was the one who ended up talking to them. Come to think of it, Spike was nowhere to be seen, which was a blessing since Danny was sure Steve would end up shooting him in his rattled state.

They found Morrie's partner Fred with Spooky. He was apparently trying to revive her.

"Is Spooky going to be all right?" Grace asked in a small voice. She'd immediately latched on to Danny the minute she saw him and didn't look like she would be letting go any time soon.

It was Fred who answered her question, giving the little girl a gentle smile. "Oh, she'll be fine, little one. Look, she's waking up now."

Spooky's eyes fluttered open and they were blank and gray.

 _"Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim."_

And she was looking directly at Steve when she said those words.

Danny could hear Steve's sudden intake of breath at that.

" _Isabel."_ Fred said in a sharp, commanding tone.

Spooky blinked and Danny could see those gray eyes return to their normal light blue, focusing first on Fred and then the rest of them. She groaned and held her head in her hands. "Oh. Owww…."

"Spooky, you feeling better?" Kono asked, going over to sit by her side on the couch. "You need us to take you to the ER?"

"No," Spooky whimpered. "Please tell me that you guys managed to book whoever it is that got me."

"Nope – you just keeled over, Spooks," Danny told her.

Fred was slightly more practical. He had just poured something from an exquisite glass pitcher into a shot glass and handed it to her. "Drink this. You need it."

"Oh. Lovely," Spooky said and drank. Color returned to her cheeks and she looked considerably better than when they came into the room.

Steve was evidently waiting for that. "You were acting a bit strange before you fainted, Spooky."

Spooky blinked. "Huh?"

 _"Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim."_ Steve recited in an uncannily perfect imitation of Spooky's accent and tone. Danny should have remembered that Steve had near-photographic memory. He and Steve were watching Spooky very carefully.

Spooky was good - Danny could see her eyes widen just a bit before she recovered herself and answered, "I said _that?"_

"You know what it means, Spooks or do you just go around speaking in tongues?" Danny asked.

"It's Sindarin," Spooky said. She shrugged. "I'm a bit of an old dead language geek too. It means: _I gave Hope to the Dúnedain; I have kept no hope for myself._ "

"That's grim," Chin observed.

"It's from an ancient tale – the Elfstone and the Evenstar," Fred supplied helpfully. "It's not so very startling since Spooky here was telling the story of their son."

Spooky gasped. "I was _what?"_

"Spooky," This time, Kono took over, shooting Danny and Steve a look. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Spooky was saved from answering when Morrie walked into the room. "Officers, I believe we have a bit of a situation."

An HPD detective was standing just outside the office door. "Commander McGarret, Detective Williams – we just got the call right now from one of the officers who took in that gatecrasher a couple of hours ago. The man's dead."

 **  
 _-tbc-_  
**

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

_  
**Interlude: From the Ashes a Fire Shall Be Woken…**   
_

_When the White Wizard chose to follow the Eldar back to Elvenhome, many believed that the knowledge of magic and spellcraft would fade away beyond the reach of memory._

 _It was not so._

 _Some of the Eldar lingered and of the Istari, Radagast the Brown stayed as well. They lingered to heal the land of the hurts left behind by the fallen Enemy and to pass on the knowledge to those who were worthy. They knew that evil would always be a part of Arda That Was Marred and it would always take a new form._

 _And their fears were well founded when they divined the true intentions of the last Queen of Numenor and the foul and terrible creature that she had become, hidden by the fairness of her face and form. She came very close to achieving her goals, having ensnared the heart of the young High King and believing him well and truly besotted._

 _But the High King would not be deceived forever and he had learned well the lessons taught him by his kinsmen among the Eldar and from the last remaining wizard in the lands. Although his grief was great, his love for his people was the stronger and so he confronted his enemy, who was once the woman he loved._

 _In the end, he succeeded in banishing Tar-Miriel from the land, sending her back to her enchanted sleep, sealing her away._

 _Glorfindel of Rivendell, one of the greatest Elven-lords still living in the lands, spoke these words to the High King:_

" _She shall sleep for a time, my young King, but know that she will wake again and she will stand to threaten you and your House, even after Gondor and Arnor fade away in men's memories. And so it will always be, until her life ends by your hand."_

* * *

 **PART IV**

This did not make sense.

Ryan Wakefield was an ordinary, unassuming man in his early 30's with brown hair and blue eyes. He was employed as a clerk in a small but successful shipping company. He wasn't known to even have any vices, other than the occasional beer and was described by most of his officemates and friends as a "nice, quiet guy." He was unmarried. His parents died in a boating accident three years ago and he had no siblings, other than some extended family members like a couple of cousins, uncles and aunts living on the islands.

All in all, he was just a very ordinary, typical citizen, a guy one would pass by on the street and not give a second thought to.

Until he suddenly decided to dress up as a _very_ convincing vampire on Halloween, run afoul of the Five-0 Team and then get himself arrested and die a couple of hours later.

Danny ran a hand over his hair, completely at his wits' end. "I don't get it. What, he just up and went _lolo_ because of his incredibly boring life?"

Steve slanted him a look that managed to be both fond and irritatingly smug all at once. "Seriously, Danny? You finally going native on us?"

Danny shrugged. "What – a guy can't pick up a couple of useful Hawaiian words here and there? I can adapt. It's not unheard of. I'm still saying no to loud aloha shirts and pineapple on pizza, you know."

"Yes, dear, I know."

It was the day after Halloween and of course, considering what happened that night, they were going to have to work this case. Whatever was bothering Steve from the previous night was set aside for this new mystery they were trying to figure out and frankly, Danny knew his partner needed the distraction. Honestly, Danny counted it a miracle that both of them actually managed to get some sleep last night. Steve had been restless and agitated and Danny had to get _creative_ to help Steve settle down.

To be honest, Danny was expecting that Wakefield was some kind of closet pedophile – he'd actually fed Steve some bullshit line about feeding on Grace's blood. He was just lucky Steve had punched him out – Danny would have been perfectly willing to throw the guy off the roof of some building somewhere.

"If you two lovebirds will stop billing and cooing for a moment, I just got the toxicology report back from Max," Chin told them. "Found elements of hyoscine – whatever poison he took, it evidently had nightshade in it, among other things."

Steve groaned. "You've _got_ to be kidding me. First the vampire thing, now the nightshade? How cliché can this get?"

"Okay, science nerd – what's the deal about the nightshade?" Danny asked.

"It's supposed to be the real reason why witches 'fly'," Spooky volunteered. "If you use just a small amount, it causes hallucinations and the impression of floating."

"And too much means you go bye-bye, okay, I get it," Danny continues. "So okay, to backtrack: Mr. Ryan Wakefield, a.k.a. Count Whackula dresses up for Halloween, crashes our party, flirts with Steve and decides that my baby girl looks good enough to eat. Asshole."

"He wouldn't have laid a finger on Gracie, Danny, I promise you that," Steve said fervently.

"I know, babe," Danny said, favoring his goofball of a partner with a soft smile. He continued. "We have him arrested, our brothers in arms in the HPD take him in and on the way to the precinct, he starts acting all funny in the squad car."

"The officers reported that he started screaming and convulsing," Kono said, reading off the report. "So they uncuffed him, thinking that they might have to bring him to the hospital. He managed to knock one of the officers down first, got the other one as well and then, opened up the ring he was wearing and swallowed something from it."

"The poison," Chin added. "And he's DOA at the hospital – it's a suicide but why?"

" _Opened_ the ring?" Steve asked. "The one with the huge ruby on it?"

"Shades of the Borgias," Danny muttered. He did remember seeing that ring – it was just too big and ornate not to miss.

"Ring must have had one of those secret compartment things to conceal stuff like that," Spooky said, absently, rummaging through the box of evidence that was brought to them. She frowned as she laid out the articles of clothing that the victim had worn, one by one, on the large table they had in the middle of the room. "Where _is_ the ring?"

Steve's gaze sharpened. "We have missing evidence?"

Kono grabbed the inventory list. "Everything on this list is here. But no ring was listed being recovered from our vic. He _was_ wearing one – the officers' report described it exactly as you did, Boss."

"It wasn't a piece of costume jewelry either," Steve said thoughtfully. "It was huge and heavy – it was the real thing, I'd swear to it."

"Here," Spooky brandished a receipt. "This was found in the victim's pockets. It's from the Sackville Costume and Antiques Shop. I'd guess that's where he found his vampire get-up. Maybe the ring too."

"Good," Steve praised. "Danny and I will head on over and check that out. Spooky, Kono, go to our vic's apartment, have a look around, see if you can find any clue why he decided to act all crazy and suicide on Halloween. Find that ring too. Chin, take a look into his finances. Maybe there's something there that we're missing. Like Danny said – this guy looks like he's just Joe Normal so let's find out what was going on with him."

* * *

Danny waited until they had gotten into the car – Steve was on the driver's side, naturally – before he asked his question.

"You're going to ask me to check into Spooky and that weird Club too, right?"

Steve sighed. "I have Chin already looking into Morrie Bauman and Club Denial. Spooky's another thing altogether. I mean, even if Chin turns up something off about Bauman, Spooky's bound to have her own set of contacts in the underground – hell, we all do."

"I know that. But you let her keep working with Kono."

Steve nodded.

"We did a full background check on her, Steve – she's clean. A little odd, yeah, what with the Goth thing," Danny said. It was true – Danny and Chin had gotten that done before they finally asked her to be a part of the team. "I think it's less about Spooky herself and more about that weird story she was telling before she spaced out on us."

Steve nodded again. "Something about that story she told is bothering me. You know, I read all that stuff about the Middle-earth myths when I was a kid. I loved it – the stuff about the hobbits and the Elves and the Lord of the Rings. Knew _everything_ about it – backwards and forwards – even wanted to minor in the Elven languages too."

"Geek," Danny teased. "Hobbits, really?"

"Like you've got room to talk," Steve's grin looked positively evil as he regarded Danny from head to foot.

"Go ahead, I _dare_ you to say something _,_ " Danny growled.

Steve, damn him, actually looked like he was thinking about it. "Well…"

"I have one word for you, Steven: _couch."_

"I was just going to say something on how much you like your food and how particular you are about it," Steve said innocently.

Danny was not fooled by the innocent look. Not one bit. "Uh-huh."

"Also, there's the thing about you being cute too."

Danny sputtered. "Cute? _Cute?_ Excuse me – puppies and kittens are cute. Babies are cute. Note that all of the above-mentioned are teeny-tiny things and I am _not –"_

"Stop distracting me, Danno," Steve told him, mischief dancing in those ever-changeable eyes, which were blue-green today. "I had a point to make."

Damn it. Steve's smile and those eyes distracted _him_ sufficiently enough for Steve to lean over and kiss him silly. Danny could taste coffee and a bit of sugar from the bite Steve stole from Danny's breakfast _malasadas_ and Danny really, _really_ wanted for them to be _anywhere_ but in the parking lot, sitting in the Camaro where they could be seen by anyone passing by.

Steve drew back and Danny was expecting that he'd be wearing that smug, goofy expression that always made Danny end up trying to figure out whether it was appropriate to hit him or kiss him again. Naturally, because Steve made it his mission in life to drive Danny to distraction, he had on that sweet, happy look instead.

Danny would take that any day, given how freaked out Steve had been the previous night.

"As I was saying," Steve said leaning back. "I had a point to make."

"So say it already because so help me God, you look at me like that one more time, I won't be held responsible for my actions." Okay, Danny meant to sound grumpy, he really, really did. It just wasn't working right now.

"Those stories always ended with the Ringbearer sailing over the seas and with the new King marrying his Elven bride. I know that the King and Queen did have a son and he grew up to be King after his dad. But the stories always ended there. There wasn't anything else after that. Nothing about the Prince, what he did, what happened during his reign – nothing except his name and that he succeeded his father to the throne."

Danny thought about it. He'd read the Middle-earth myths too as a kid and realized that Steve was right. "I always thought that was how it ended – they lived happily ever after for the rest of their days."

"That was the way it should've ended," Steve agreed. "That was the way I _thought_ it ended. But Spooky told a different story last night. Where did she get that?"

"Yeah," Danny said thoughtfully. They really needed to talk to Spooky and level with her. It was obvious that she knew _something_ although Danny's instincts were telling him that she wasn't a threat to the team. They did need to give her a chance to explain herself though. "Steve. What was the Prince's name again?"

"Eldarion," Steve answered. "That was his name. Eldarion, son of the Elfstone and the Evenstar, Aragorn and Arwen."

* * *

 _  
**Interlude: A Memory**   
_

_She will always remember him for his kindness._

 _She first met him as a little girl of nine years, hiding behind her older sister's skirts. He was beautiful, she remembered thinking but it was the gentle smile and those kind eyes that caught her attention. And his voice, soft and coaxing her out from her hiding place._

 _"There you are, little one."_

 _She remembers the gentle touch of his hand on her arm, the quick flash of temper in his eyes at seeing the bruises on her skin and once more, that smile._

" _It's all right now. No one will hurt you here. There's nothing to fear."_

 _And he had spoken truly._

 _It was such a change, from Milord's cold voice and scathing tones. Milord - always - never Father, the Numenorean nobleman who sired her and her eldest sister, thinking of them as nothing more than game pieces in his quest for power and position. Milord with his rules and his endless drilling of protocol and proper behavior, how he dictated what were suitable pursuits for ladies of their position and bloodline. She remembers him destroying her toys, because she was no longer an infant in the nursery and she should bend her eyes and hands to the womanly tasks expected of a lady who would one day run a nobleman's household._

 _She remembers the shouting and the arguments with her sister and the beatings he inflicted on both of them, her sister taking the worst of the blows. It only made him angrier afterwards – her sister should not be damaged so, how would the Crown Prince even_ look _at her if she was marred?_

 _It is not until later that she remembers Milord wanted her older sister to set her sights on the Crown Prince, to marry him and so ensure Milord's position in the court._

 _She remembers that it was the Prince who had saved them, taken them out of that hell and that they had never looked back since. How many doors were opened to them then? How many paths and possibilities that they could now take? She remembers her sister finding love in the Steward Faramir's son Elboron and how well-suited they were, filling their home with more children and laughter and joy._

 _Her path lay along a different road, possessed as she was of certain Gifts. She would walk in starlight in the company of the last remaining Eldar of Middle-earth, absorb their knowledge, learn their stories, keeping them all in her memory._

 _Storyteller. Keeper of the Tales, Singer of Songs, they would call her with their sweet beautiful voices._

 _She would sing of the Prince and his deeds in the Great Hall, delighting the King and his beautiful Elven Queen._

 _She would stand witness as the Prince's story would continue to unfold, keep safe the memories and the truths, a loyal and devoted subject not just to the crown but to the man himself._

 _She would remember, when everyone else would forget, even when the kingdom was gone and all of them were dust._

 _She would always remember – she would never forget._

 _Even when the Prince himself did._

* * *

 **PART V**

The Sackville Costume & Antiques Shop _should_ have looked harmless. It was one of those odd little places with all these useless knick-knacks, unusual pieces of clothing, books, jewelry – things that would have driven Danny's mom and his sisters wild. _Rachel_ would have spent _hours_ in this place.

It creeped Danny out.

See, he'd seen this movie before. Hell, it was a freaking _television series_ even. This was The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday, the one with the all the cursed antiques, where there was no such thing as a return policy. And of course, forget about using cash or credit card for these places – _souls_ were the currency here, collected by the sinister shopkeeper.

All right, so Danny's imagination was running away with him. After the night he and Steve had, he was entitled to it.

"Admit it," he whispered to Steve, "You're as spooked of this place as I am."

Steve snorted. "I'm not buying anything, are you?"

"Hell, no."

"How may I help you gentlemen?"

And that was how they were introduced to Simon Gaunt. With the hoity-toity English accent, impeccable clothes and clean good looks, he was _exactly_ like the sort of guy any self-respecting girl should be bringing home to their mother.

Danny didn't care – if Grace ever brought home a guy who somehow managed to set off every last one of his alarm bells like this one did, Danny would be breaking out the shotguns. This was different from the people at Club Denial and the irritating thing was, _they_ were the weird-looking ones. Gaunt was as ordinary as Ryan Wakefield a.k.a. Count Whackula – sophisticated, urbane and openly cooperative. He answered each and every one of Danny's questions about Wakefield with aplomb.

Yes, Wakefield did come in and rent out a costume for Halloween. Yes, he did rent out jewelry as well – though only to very special clients.

"And Ryan Wakefield was a special client?" Danny asked, raising a brow.

Gaunt gave one of those fake, embarrassed-sounding coughs. "Well, no… it was his first time here. He was rather sweet, really. He wanted to look a little different from Halloween and so I made some suggestions. I was rather hoping he'd become one of my regulars. You know how it is." He smiled apologetically. "It was a shame, what happened."

"The ring was a bit unique," Danny said, leading him a little bit. He wanted to see if Gaunt would admit to knowing about the ring's unusual features.

Gaunt nodded. "Oh yes. It had a secret compartment where one could conceal a pinch of snuff or… well…" Again, with the little cough of embarrassment. "Something a little more sinister, if you know what I mean? Which was why it made such a suitable accessory for a vampire's costume – was there any reason why you're asking me about that ring, Detective?"

"Sinister," Danny echoed. "Funny you should say that because that's how he died. From a poison he concealed in that ring."

Gaunt looked shocked. "Good God!"

If he was acting, it was a very good job, Danny would give him that. "I'm afraid so. Would be interesting to know where he got it from."

"Well…surely you don't think he got it _here?"_ Gaunt was outraged. "I did make a point of showing him the secret compartment underneath the ruby. It was quite empty, I assure you. He must've gotten the poison from somewhere else."

Steve had been content to let Danny lead with the questioning. It was usually how they worked and honestly, Danny didn't want him to break out the grenades each time they talked to a person of interest. In fact, Steve had been hanging back, checking out the shop's impressive collection of old books. He'd pulled one out and looked like for all the world that he was engrossed in the book, except that Danny knew perfectly well Steve was listening the entire time.

And then, Steve held out the book he was holding towards them. "Would it be okay if we borrow this?"

"Oh dear," said Gaunt, taking the book and looking at the title. "I'm afraid I really can't let it out of the shop, Detective. It's quite valuable and very rare. I'm afraid I would have to require a warrant if you wish to take it out of the shop. Or you could do your research here, if you wish."

 _The Book of Lost Tales._ Danny frowned as he read the title of the book over Gaunt's shoulder. What was it about the book that Steve found so interesting?

"Okay. Hey, Danny, you got everything?"

Steve was _never_ this agreeable, not towards a suspect. But Danny was going to play along for the moment. "Sure, I'm good."

They took their leave of Gaunt and as always, Danny waited until they got into the car before he started in on Steve.

"I'm going to say this in short, simple words, so you'll understand," Danny growled. "What. The. Fuck?"

And then, he almost regretted being so short with Steve when he saw that his partner had the same, exact haunted expression he was wearing when Danny confronted him in the club's restroom. Danny couldn't help it – he gently placed a hand on the back of Steve's neck in a comforting gesture, fingers gently threading through the still-long curls. "Babe?"

Steve closed his eyes briefly and leaned into the touch before he drew away, looking more determined this time. "I think we better go to Club Denial."

"What was in the book, Steven?" Danny asked. Because it had to be that damn book and Spooky's crazy story that was getting Steve all worked up.

"Trust me, Danny, I don't know what to think or tell you either. Let's just go to Club Denial first, okay?"

What else was Danny supposed to do but let his idiot, goofball of a partner lead the way?

* * *

Kono was beginning to _really_ understand how Danny felt with Steve sometimes.

Chin was easy to get along with – he was her cousin and was pretty much her big brother all her life. When it came to the job, he was her mentor and she listened to him. She knew how lucky she was that she ended up in Five-0. She'd known how much flack she was going to get for being Chin's cousin if she'd stayed in HPD like most of her class.

She didn't give a damn. Being a cop was what she wanted to be and Chin was _not_ a dirty cop.

Spooky was a whole different kettle of fish. The other woman was just a few years older than her, old enough to have gained experience and to _earn_ the rank of Detective, even if she looked barely old enough to have graduated from the academy herself. She was where Kono was going to be in a couple of more years or so and their working relationship was a bit unique.

Spooky outranked her; Kono was far longer in Five-0 than she was. Spooky had the skills and certainly the knowledge that she could impart to Kono, much as Danny, Steve and Chin were doing. On the other hand, Spooky wasn't blood family and she was still too new to the team, still feeling her way around. It made things a whole lot easier that Spooky didn't seem to have the judgmental and suspicious attitude the other cops in HPD did. She liked all of them and it was an honest, no-bullshit, genuine thing.

But Spooky had secrets of her own and Kono knew that Halloween had just scratched the surface of them. Kono was the one who usually saw up and personal the _why_ behind Spooky's nickname. There were moments when she'd look at things and especially _people_ and just _know_ even if Kono was prepared to swear up and down that there wasn't a single clue that should've given them away.

And like Chin and Steve, Spooky could be maddeningly close-mouthed about things. Like right now, Spooky was being quiet and withdrawn as Kono drove them over to Ryan Wakefield's apartment.

Kono wasn't having any of that. And she _knew_ she had to get Spooky to talk. She knew that the other members of their team were wondering about Spooky already and she knew the background check that Chin and Danny had run on her showed that she was a clean cop. It was one of the first things they'd looked into before asking her to join Five-0. Kono's own instincts were telling her that Spooky wasn't a threat to them in that sense.

But Spooky was keeping _something_ from them and it had to do with Club Denial too, which, by the way, had also gotten Kono wondering. That place was _weird_ and Kono was born and raised in these islands so weird was part of her everyday life but Club Denial was strange even for her.

"So," Kono said quietly. "You want to tell me what was _really_ going on with you freaking out on Steve last night? And the whole spacing-out thing you did?"

Spooky slanted a look at her. "Would you believe me if I just said I'm just nursing a hopeless crush on the Bossman? And I'll get over it, 'cause I really am happy for him and Danny-Boss?"

Kono snorted. "You, me, every female cop on the islands and a few of the guys that swing that way. Come on, Spooky, you can do better than that."

Spooky swallowed. "It's a bit hard to explain. In fact, I don't even know _where_ to begin."

"Try beginning with 'Uncle Morrie' and Club Denial then."

Spooky snorted. "He's 'connected' in almost the same way Kamekona's 'connected' and you know it. He's got his ear to the ground and God help any mobster or druglord wanting to fuck with him and anybody under his protection. Literally. He's _safe_ , Kono – he was serious when he told us that we've got nothing to fear at Club Denial."

"So if Chin runs a background check on Morris Bauman…"

"He's clean, Kono," Spooky said, with a soft laugh. "So am I, if you're suddenly wondering. I took an oath to defend and protect, Kono – I take my oaths seriously."

"And you're not offended by the questioning," Kono said in amazement. Danny would have ranted at this point. Chin would have clammed up and Steve… well, the Boss would've gone quiet in the same sense that you'd have the proverbial calm before the storm and in this case, the storm would be the kind that has the 100 plus mile per hour winds and rain pouring so hard that one couldn't tell the difference between the rainwater and the massive waves rolling in.

Spooky shrugged. "I'd be doing the same thing if I were in your shoes. I know how fucked-up this thing is." She rubbed a hand over her face, looking, for once, like her actual age, instead of being barely old enough to drive. "I know how fucked-up I am over it."

It was really funny to hear Spooky swear. Kono repressed a smile and moved on. "And the whole deal with the Middle-earth stories?"

"Shit."

"I know my ancient mythologies, Spooky," Kono said relentlessly. "That thing about the Prince and the Queen of Numenor wasn't _ever_ in any book or anything online that I've ever read on the subject."

"It's not," Spooky said quietly. "At least not in any book available to you. Those stories were all lost long ago. There isn't really any story or tale surviving about Prince Eldarion, at least nothing available to the rest of the world."

The way she said it sent a chill down Kono's spine. "So why do _you_ know about it?"

Spooky blew out a breath. "I think I want to talk about this with _everyone_ present. Steve especially, because it concerns him closely."

"Spooky –"

"I promise, Kono," Spooky said earnestly. "I know I haven't really earned the trust of the team yet. I _am_ going to talk about this, with everyone there. Okay?"

It was good enough. Kono pulled up next to Wakefield's apartment complex and parked the car. "So about the missing ring –"

"Yeah, that's going to be a pain in the ass," Spooky said. "We're going to have to talk to the EMTs who were first on the scene after we get done with this house."

Kono raised a brow. "You don't think they took it?"

"Somebody did – we have to start somewhere," said Spooky as she pushed the door of Wakefield's apartment open.

The apartment was neat and well-kept, with simple furniture and not a lot of fussy décor. As ordinary as the victim had been and apparently, he made decent money as a clerk because there's a loft where the bed was located. There wasn't anything really out of place, except for a mug and a couple of plates in the sink and candy in a wooden bowl. If Fate had been kinder to him, Ryan Wakefield would have come home to this, tidied up and gone on with the rest of his life. Kono tried not to think about that too much because it was just plain _sad_ how these things worked out.

"Bet you anything we won't even find a Dracula novel in here," Kono said. The guy had a few video games too – like the guys on their team, he liked the war and racing games. "This doesn't make sense. Steve was saying he was acting _exactly_ like those kids who were _way_ into the vampire-Goth scene… um, no offense, Spooky."

"Hey – I happen to be very sane and reasonable about my fandoms, thank you very much." Spooky waved a finger at her. "And I also know you were checking out the Mick/Josef slash on the Moonlight fan fiction websites."

Kono blushed. The trouble working with a bunch of cops was that it was very, very difficult to keep secrets. However, Kono had ammunition. So despite the blush, Kono countered: "You and your thing for Kirk and Spock slash. Old school much, Spooky?"

Spooky shook her head, looking sheepish. "Okay. Call it even?"

"You got it."

Of course, Kono made a beeline for Wakefield's desk where his laptop was.

"Wow, laptop's not even password protected," Kono whistled. His browsing history and bookmarks weren't that remarkable. There was a couple of sites where it was obvious he was looking for Halloween costumes and one that led to the Sackville Costume & Antiques Shop. Other than that, Kono couldn't find any hint that he was even into the Goth scene, much less obsessed with vampires the way he was acting at the Governor's ball. Of course, he had a few porn sites in there but it was pretty vanilla – nothing even remotely kinky.

It was relatively easy to get into the guy's email and again Kono yielded zip.

"It's that ring," Spooky was muttering as she browsed through the rest of the late Ryan Wakefield's things. "Something about that ring's not sitting right with me."

"What, like it could be cursed or something?"

They both paused when they heard noise coming from upstairs. No need for discussion – both of them drew their guns.

"Five-0! Who's there?" Kono barked.

 _Someone_ leaped from the loft bedroom. He knocked Spooky aside and Kono caught the glint of gold and red just as she brought her gun up to shoot.

The bloodshot eyes and the sharp fangs caught her by surprise and made her hesitate just a fraction of a second long enough for him to knock her gun away. Swearing, Kono got a knee up into this guy's stomach. It should have winded him long enough so that she could take him down but the guy – the _vampire?_ – gave her a toothy, fang-filled grin and grabbed her neck, slamming her against the wall.

 _Vampire_. Her mind was still taking in all the details, the pale, pale skin, the uniform of an EMT, the blood-red ruby on his finger.

"Pretty," the vampire rasped. "I like it when they fight."

Kono could _feel_ it when the vampire tried to reach into her mind, trying to wear her resistance down, make her surrenderto him. She felt cold all of a sudden, _dirty_ , like he was actually _touching_ her skin through her clothes, although he just had his hands on her throat.

 _Yield to me_ , she heard it in her mind and she _screamed_ in defiance, even though nothing could get past her tight throat but a strangled grunt.

She wasn't going down without a fight.

The vampire exposed Kono's throat long enough for the expected bite. But he hissed and drew back when he saw the St. Michael's medal that Danny had given her around her neck. It gave Kono enough of an opening to knee him in the nuts.

The vampire staggered backwards, moaning. Then, a small hand grabbed his hair, throwing his head back enough to expose his throat and there was a flash of bright silver.

The vampire screamed and Kono slumped down to the floor, gasping for breath.

His throat started to smoke and the vampire whirled around, trying to lash out at this new threat. Spooky stood in front of him, long silver knife in hand. The vampire lunged at her and moving faster than Kono thought possible, Spooky ducked low, striking out with the knife. She scored another hit on the vampire and Kono could smell the acrid stench of burning human flesh.

Spooky's eyes were kind of terrifying at this point, gray and feral, teeth bared in a snarl.

"This?" she said, brandishing the blade, "is blessed silver. My partner? Can kick your ass and is under protection too. What's it gonna be, you son of a bitch?"

The vampire looked at Kono and Kono was definitely getting with the program, making sure that her St. Michael's medal was in full view (and really, she was going to kiss Danny for this and risk the wrath of Steve, she was _that grateful)._ Then he slanted a look at Spooky and how fucked up was it that they were facing a vampire _right now_ in broad daylight?

The vampire ran but he made for the kitchen window. Glass went flying and Kono reflexively jumped back. She threw a glance at Spooky, because they had to go after that guy, even if every instinct she had was screaming against it but Spooky was shaking her head.

"Don't bother," the tiny detective said. "He's faster than a normal human and he'll be long gone from here." Gently, she guided Kono outside.

"I'm okay," Kono protested. Other than the bruises that she knew were going to be around her throat, she _was_ physically fine. She still felt _soiled_ though and shivering with the cold that not even the sun could chase away.

Somehow Spooky managed to get the passenger's side of the car open and get Kono to sit inside. Gentle hands touched the side of her head and Kono gasped at the sudden warmth and the distinct sensation of _light_ , chasing the cold, _dirty_ feeling away.

"There now, that's better, isn't it?" Spooky said.

"What did you do to me?" Kono asked. "Not that I don't appreciate it though."

Spooky smiled grimly. "Something I've picked up over the years to deal with the side effects of black magic and possession attempts. You're lucky that you're never without your St. Michael's medal. It was a gift, wasn't it?"

"From Danny, yeah," Kono said. "He gave it to me on my graduation day."

"Then that's the reason why it worked so well for you – it was a gift well-given. Thank God."

"Yeah, I'm going to thank God and Danny later but _you_ need to start talking because either both of us were tripping out on some seriously weird drugs or we just fought off a vampire in _broad fucking daylight,_ " Kono growled.

"He wasn't just any kind of vampire," Spooky said. "I think he was possessed."

Kono's phone rang. It was Chin.

"Girls, I found out something interesting about that missing ring," he said.

 _  
**-tbc-**   
_

* * *

**  
**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Horror fans might be giggling at some of the references I'm throwing out there. Yes, it's deliberate. Yes, it's a tip of the hat to the classic horror series of the 80s and some Stephen King too.
> 
> Well, of COURSE Steve was going to make a hobbit joke! He just had to be sweet about it too. He was kind of due for some payback after the whole Mick St. John thing and getting Danny all twitterpated was a good way to start.
> 
> Yes, Kono and Spooky like slash. Every now and then, we have to poke fun at ourselves. (giggles)
> 
> So, at this point, it's a lot clearer what Steve's connection is to the LOTR universe. I love messing about with reincarnation stories and the minute this Bunny took up residence in my brain, I just had to run with it, no matter how loony it was. The fun part is realizing exactly who Danny and Grace were to Steve in his past life. (Muhahahahaha!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: See first post.

****  


* * *

  
_**  
Interlude: A light from the shadows shall spring…**_  
 _  
Love and loss have been a part of his life since the very beginning._  
 _  
He's seen how his parents were, had grown up knowing how very much they loved each other and their children. For the rest, it was like a fairy tale, the Ranger of the North who came to claim his kingship and the daughter of the Elven-lord of Rivendell, the fairest flower of the Eldar born since Luthien Tinuviel. For the rest it was romance and sweetness, something for the young women to sigh over and dream about._  
 _  
They couldn't understand the pain._  
 _  
They could not truly understand what it meant that Arwen Undomiel gave up her immortality for Aragorn. That she forsook all her chances to reunite with her Elven kin, to take ship for Elvenhome and forget her sorrows there. That her choice meant that she would follow him and share the fate decreed by the One for all Men._  
 _  
His mother's grief over his father's passing opened up a chasm between her and her children, one that they could not span, one that she would not cross. He'd begged her to stay, not wanting to lose father and mother in one single stroke. All of his sisters begged her to stay._

  
 _But the grief was too great, the loss too much and Eldarion's last memory of her was of her soft hand gently brushing his cheek and her words:_

" _I grieve but I will never regret."_  
 _  
He thought he understood those words then. But it's only now, at the very end of his life, that the full meaning hits home._  
 _  
He has a choice to make, like his father before him. He can rest and follow all those he had loved in life who had already gone ahead. And the urge to make that choice is stronger than any other for he knows full well who will be the first to greet him, who has been waiting for him all this time._  
 _  
He can smile, because he can hear his beloved's voice even now, chiding, fond, exasperated, loving. Calling him home._  
 _  
And there is one other choice. To stay, outside of time, to be willingly reborn from one life to the next, to know that he could not follow his beloved for that final sleep. Not right now, not yet._  
 _  
He has a vision of Miriel's ageless, beautiful face, twisted by hatred and grief. And Glorfindel's foretelling, words that have come true a few times in his reign, that she would always return to threaten him and his House, to reach out across the divide to menace his children and his children's children and all he loved. She came close far too many times and he knows that she will never stop._  
 _  
He finds himself looking at his companion, the very last one to remember him in his youth and all the years of his reign. Time has not truly touched her and even now, he can still glimpse the little girl she had been, hiding behind her sister's skirts.  
_  
 _She too has already made the choice he himself will make. The Eldar are gone now and so is Radagast the Brown, their mission accomplished, their knowledge already passed on to him and to her and to others so inclined.  
_  
" _What do you see, Isabel?" He asks her. He too has seen glimpses of what was to come, of places and times unfamiliar to him, deserts like the land of the Haradrim, lush jungles filled with strange and exotic animals and plants. Sometimes, he will hear the sea, a familiar, beloved sound, for he is of the line of the sea-kings and the sea is in his blood. He will look out to unfamiliar waters of a bright blue-green, to white sands and the warmth of a too-bright sun.  
_  
 _He will see his beloved there and he will know that he is home.  
_  
" _My lord king," she begins and he stops her.  
_  
" _You know my name. Use it, please."  
_  
 _She does, with a warm smile. "I believe I have seen as much as you do. That is not what you're asking."  
_  
 _He waits, watching her carefully and thankfully, she does not make him wait too long. "You will see your love again."  
_  
 _He sighs and closes his eyes, holding on to that.  
_  
 _She brushes a kiss across his brow, a comfort. "Sleep, my king. And I promise, I swear to you, that I will wake you once more when the time comes."  
_  


* * *

  
 **  
PART VI**

The bruises are nearly gone from Kono's throat by the time they get back to Chin and Five-0 HQ.

Of course, Chin notices anyway.

"I'm cool, 'cuz," Kono tells him and really, she's telling the truth. Whatever Spooky did to her, the pain's almost gone and whatever the vampire tried to do to her mind was fading quickly. She can't erase the memory and there's genuine regret in Spooky's eyes when she tried to explain it to Kono. But it feels like it happened _years_ ago, rather than a matter of hours.

"I'll show you how to counter something like that," Spooky had promised. "You already have a gift for it so I know you'll be able to pick it up pretty quick. And it helps that you have protection on you."

Kono's hands stray to the St. Michael medal that now rests over her heart and she feels better.

Chin, of course, is still waiting for an explanation and it's Spooky who sorts it out, holding her hands up in a placating gesture. "Jesus, Chin, you realize I _am_ on your side, right?"

"I was beginning to wonder about that," Chin said levelly. "But I've been where you are now so I _am_ waiting for an explanation."

"Rather than shoot me in the head?" Spooky asks wryly.

"Don't tempt me."

"Chin, 'cuz, Spooky is cool, I promise." Kono intervenes. And Spooky _still_ hasn't said everything but Kono _knows_ the other woman has her back just like the others on the team did.

Spooky sighs. "Something tells me that whatever you have on the ring, what I know about it and what just happened to us – that's all tied in together. So I want to make our report _after_ you tell us what's going on with the ring."

Chin's not giving her an inch, because, honestly, this is _Chin Ho Kelly_ and Kono's cousin and he is both crazy-protective and awesome in his way, even with his customary Jedi-Zen Master calm. "My cousin has bruises on her neck, you look like hell and I spoke to Kamekona about your Uncle Morrie."

Spooky's eyes are cool. "And what did he say?"

"I think I want to reserve that when Steve and Danny get here and when you make your report."

Spooky nods. "Fair enough."

And sure enough, Steve and Danny come in just in time and Steve's got his Aneurysm Face on, which just gets worse when he spots Spooky, who finally loses something of the composure she's managed to hold on to all this time and visibly slumps back against her chair. And Danny, as usual is talking, hands waving in the air. He can't help that – Kono has seen Steve reach out to hold Danny's hands down and it's like magic, stopping him in mid-rant. Of course, none of them missed the flash of temper in Danny's eyes when Steve did that but Steve just gave him what Danny has called his Patented Kicked-Puppy Look™ and it worked on the Jersey detective like a charm.

Danny will never admit it but he's a complete and total wuss for that Kicked-Puppy Look™.

"You know, Chin, I really need to thank you from stopping Rambo here from raising all kinds of hell _before_ we had some lunch," Danny was saying. He makes a beeline for the side table, grabbing a coffee and a sandwich. "He didn't get to do it at Sackville's so I think he's trying to make up for lost time."

Steve rolled his eyes. "And he says he's got nothing to do with hobbits at all, not with the thing for food."

"Hey, the threat of the couch still stands, Steven!"

Chin clears his throat. "What did I say about the billing and cooing, guys?"

They can't help it – Kono and Spooky slant looks at each other and giggle even as Danny and Steve both blush and give the floor to Chin.

Chin had finished his investigation into Ryan Wakefield and yielded no leads at all. So he turned his attention to something else. He got into contact with the head of security at Club Denial, Kenshin Himura.

"Wait, the cute little redheaded samurai guy – _that's_ Himura?" Danny interjects.

"Cute, Danno?" And oh God, Steve was edging towards an expression that was somewhere between Aneurysm Face and Kicked-Puppy. Beware of Jealous!SEAL, Kono thinks – honestly, she ought to put up a sign on Steve's office; she'd be doing everyone a public service.

Danny rolls his eyes. "He kind of reminds me of you. Don't know why, what being vertically challenged and the thing for wearing pink, but he does."

Spooky snorts. "I know Kenshin and you have _no_ idea how apt that description is, Danny."

"What, he's a sweet-natured goofball whose secret identity is that of a Super-Ninja SEAL assassin?"

"Off topic, guys – let my cousin talk," Kono interjects.

Chin rolls his eyes at them.

Himura was a pretty reasonable guy and had lent Chin the security footage taken from the Governor's ball. From there, it was fairly easy to get a good, clear shot of the huge, ornate ruby ring that Wakefield was wearing and run a check on it.

It was stolen, to begin with.

And it had history – an _occult_ history to be precise.

"The Ring of Ar-Zimraphel," Chin continued with his report. He sent a picture of the ring on the huge flat screen monitor. It really was a beautiful piece of jewelry, seen up close, the large ruby at its heart the deep red color of blood and compelling the eye to look. "It's said to be thousands of years old and was last in the possession of the Oakenshield family. One of those really old English families with a title going back to William the Conqueror."

"Hoity-toity," Danny sniffs.

"The ring was stolen from them fifty years ago and was never found."

"Nice," Danny says. "So Gaunt could be trafficking in stolen antiques. Sounds like we may have enough for a warrant."

"Gaunt has turned up on the radar for exactly those kinds of charges but it seems that they've never stuck. Anyone investigating or close to giving investigators any clues about that seem to turn up badly injured or dead."

"We can get him for the thefts," Spooky says then. "But we're not going to get him for the death of Ryan Wakefield. And he caused it, I can tell you that. It's just that the court's not going to buy a murder charge brought about by a cursed ring."

Kono flinches and she knows Chin's caught that.

"Yeah, about that ring," Chin continues, regarding Spooky carefully. "Usually, as curse stories go, they usually talk about getting cursed when they _own_ the ring. But this one talks about being cursed if they _wear_ it. There's a long list of stories here about deaths occuring each time the ring is worn. And strange behavior by the wearer."

Spooky's white now and she glances uneasily at Steve.

"At this point, it would be a good idea to start talking, Spooks," Danny tells her gently. "Super SEAL here was all set to go over to Club Denial for something he's _still_ refusing to explain to me when Chin called and hauled us back in here."

"I was reading a book from Gaunt's shop," Steve says then. "It was called _The Book of Lost Tales_."

Spooky sucks in a sharp breath.

"I saw some things there that were…." And at this point, Steve has gone as pale as Spooky herself. "I'd like an explanation at this point, because despite what Danno here thinks, there _is_ just a certain level of insanity that I can actually handle."

"It's high," Danny offers helpfully. "Very high. But yeah, he actually has a limit. Also, explaining why the rookie over there has bruises on her throat would be good too."

"And Kamekona told me something _very_ interesting about your Uncle Morrie," Chin puts in. "He told me that Morrie was a good guy to have at your back but one must step carefully lest we incur the wrath of someone who happens to be _akua."  
_  
" _What?"_ This from Kono _and_ Steve, who's gone even whiter, if possible. Kono knows what the word means but for Steve, it's obvious that he's a couple of steps ahead of the rest and has realized something that the rest of them haven't.

"Wait, what, what the everliving fuck is going on here?" Danny says. "What's this _akua_ you're talking about?"

"Wow, where am I going to start?" Spooky says wryly. "For starters, Kono and I know who has the ring now. He attacked us at Wakefield's place."

"One of the EMTs," Kono says. "And he was a vampire. Fangs, funky eyes, also attempted to do some mind whammy on me."

"St. Michael was watching out for Kono though – nice gift, Danny," Spooky adds.

"Yeah, I'd kiss you if a certain Jealous!SEAL doesn't mind," Kono says cheekily.

" _Vampire?"_ This from Danny and Chin. Steve closes his eyes and finds a chair to sit down on. He grabs Danny's coffee mug and drinks the stuff down like it was made of something stronger.

"That's what the ring does, actually," Spooky explains. "It was created long ago by a very corrupt, very evil wizard, using the forbidden ringlore crafted by the Dark Lord Sauron and Saruman the White. I don't remember much of when I spaced out at the Halloween party but judging by Steve's reaction, I'm going to take a guess and started telling stories about Prince Eldarion and how he woke Queen Tar-Miriel from her enchanted sleep, am I right?"

"You did," Chin tells. "Very interesting because even I know the Middle-earth stuff and all those stories were things I've never even heard about."

"The Ring has something of Tar-Miriel's essence in it and as I think you've all figured out, she's actually a very old, very powerful vampire. Ar-Zimraphel is simply just another one of her names. Whoever takes the Ring will start displaying vampiric characteristics, until they are slowly taken over by it. And just like the One Ring of old, this Ring has its own thoughts and its own will. It will take the Ring Bearer to where Tar-Miriel lies sleeping and wake her."

"Okay. I am going to do the obligatory freak-out here, since Steve's doing his _too_ quietly. So. Did I just suddenly wake up and step into _The Twilight Zone?"_ Danny interjects. "I mean, really, Spooks, _vampires?"  
_  
" _Brah_ , I thought it was crazy too until I nearly became lunch for one," Kono shudders.

"Sorry, guys," Spooky manages to look apologetic. "I mean, Hawaii isn't exactly ideal for your typical bloodsucker, what with the sun and everything but aside from the sun-hating variety you guys know from the movies, there _are_ such things as daywalking vampires."

Danny throws up his hands in exasperation. "This is fucking nuts. Okay? Like we don't have to look over our shoulders for evil Chinese criminal masterminds like Wo Fat already, we have to deal with supernatural monsters too? Huh?"

Spooky sighs and spreads her hands in another apologetic gesture. "Honestly? I was hoping none of us would ever have to deal with this shit and there was a good chance we never would."

"Oh God, please listen to this," And Danny, of course, is in full-blown rant mode now and there's no stopping him. "She says that there was a good chance we'd never get into this shit. On a team that includes a crazy Super Ninja SEAL, a Ninja-Rookie in Training and a fucking Jedi Zen Master. _Of course we'd get roped into it!"  
_  
The thing about Danny is that his rants can induce hysterical giggle-fits at exactly the wrong time, Kono knows. It's the reason why Steve loves to provoke them so much and as upset as Steve clearly is, she can see the tell-tale twitch of his lips, trying to repress a smile.

And of course, Kono has to throw her own two cents in. "You forgot the Badass Adorable Jersey Detective there, Danny."

Chin has to turn away to hide his own laughter. Hysterical laughter seems to be the only sane reaction to the insanity they were all currently facing.

"And what I'm trying to figure out," Danny continues, still flailing. "Is how the hell you know so much about this, Spooky? Because that's still the thing you've forgotten to explain to us!"

"It was you, wasn't it?" Steve suddenly interjects. "You were the one who wrote _The Book of Lost Tales._ You wrote the stories so that there would be _something_ left behind, made the drawings, kept the record of Eldarion's reign…. _because you were there all along and you saw everything."  
_  
They all stare at Steve. He's on his feet now and his eyes are intent on Spooky. The accusation is just one more thing to add to the pile of crazy they were fast accumulating. And how fucked up was it that the last explanation suddenly made so much sense?

Spooky only looks sad. She tilts her head to the side, regarding Steve thoughtfully. "You're beginning to remember, aren't you?"

"I saw Eldarion's portrait in that fucking book," Steve snarls. "It was me – no weird fucking coincidence, I just _knew_ it was me. _And I don't want to fucking remember this!"  
_  
"I'm sorry, Steve," Spooky whispers, looking like she wanted to burst into tears any second. "I'd rather you didn't remember either. But I think that's not a choice for you anymore."

Danny, of course, has gone to Steve already, putting a hand on his arm. "Steve…."

The moment breaks when both Danny's and Steve's phones ring.

Danny starts swearing, looking murderous and it's Steve's turn to try and calm him down.

"Come on, Danny, she's safe, we'll all go to HPD together and get her, okay?"

It's true – little Grace _is_ safe. But the news is still bad.

Her mother, Rachel Edwards, has been kidnapped.

* * *

  
 **  
PART VII**

If there was one thing that Danny and Rachel would be in complete agreement on, it was this – they were both prepared to do whatever it takes to keep their daughter safe.

" _Daddy!"_

Danny doesn't hesitate – he runs to catch his precious baby up in his arms, holding her tight. It's like that mess that happened with Stan all over again only it's so much worse because Grace is the only one who's running to greet him, tears on her sweet little face. It hurts that his baby doesn't have her mother with her right this moment. Even in the worst moments of their failed marriage and the disastrous second attempt at reconciliation – Danny still knew he'd do whatever it took to keep Rachel safe.

He doesn't love her anymore, at least, not in the way he thought he did, when he first thought she was the one he would be growing old with. But Rachel is still Grace's mother and she did bring his beautiful little girl into this world. That's something Danny would never regret.

Danny's aware of Steve hanging back, giving the two of them space. Danny's going to give him hell for this later – Steve should know that he's a part of this too and Grace is practically his child now as well. Danny doesn't have any words for the moment but he manages to beckon Steve forward and Steve finally enfolds both of them in his arms, pressing a quick kiss to Grace's hair. Danny's not going to care about the display, despite the fact that they're in the middle of the HPD Precinct.

"Uncle Steve?" Grace asks. "You and Danno are going to save my Mommy, aren't you?"

Steve's eyes are suspiciously wet but his voice is steady and strong when he assures her, "We will, Grace. I promise you, we'll do everything we can to get your Mom back."

They get the story out of Grace and the rookie HPD cops who saved her life. Danny's going to be eternally grateful to these two guys – Joey Kahele and Mel Planas – both of them part of Kono's graduating class. Apparently, Rachel had gone to the Sackville Costume and Antiques Shop to pick up a present for her mother, who loved antique jewelry and who would be coming to Hawaii in a week for her birthday.

Grace described a pale, red-eyed man who apparently was with Simon Gaunt, staring at her. He said, "This is the child, Master."

"They made me feel sick inside," Grace confided. "And everything seemed so cold and dark all of a sudden."

Rachel had cottoned on to what was happening when two other men tried to block the exit to the shop. She'd grabbed a vase and smashed it on one man's head and used the mace she had taken to carrying around in her bag against the other man. She'd gotten past them long enough to open the door and scream at Grace to run for help.

Grace hadn't hesitated – she'd been taught by both parents and Steve to obey without question if something like this happened. Screaming, the child ran as fast as she could, pursued by one of Gaunt's people. On the street, the little girl caught the attention of the two cops on patrol. Officer Planas was able to grab Grace while Officer Kahele got the drop on the other guy and made the arrest.

"He was acting real weird, _brah_ ," said Kahele, shuddering. "His eyes were all red and he was trying to go for my throat, trying to _bite_ me. Plenty of things he could've done to try and take me down, yeah? But no, he was acting like a rabid dog or something."

Danny can't help but be proud of Rachel when he hears how she defended their daughter. He's just hoping he can bring her back to Grace.  
Honolulu Police had already gone to Gaunt's shop but of course, there was no one there. Chin tipped them off about the possibility of stolen antiques and they were about to start inventorying the store's stock. Kono made the call to Stan Edwards, who was currently out of the country on business. Rachel's current husband would be on the next flight home.

There's no bullshit on jurisdiction right now. HPD has turned over their prisoner to Five-0 for questioning. And Kono immediately stepped up to take Grace on, reassuring the distraught child that Danno and Uncle Steve weren't going anywhere but they had to ask the bad man where her Mommy was taken.

Spooky takes Danny and Steve aside first though.

"Danny, you've got a St. Michael's medal on you, right?" she asks, gray eyes intent on his.

"Yeah – what, you think this guy's a vampire or something?" Danny has had it up to here with the supernatural bullshit.

"Danny – _this is important,"_ Spooky growls. "I can sense the _wrongness_ in this guy and Grace has sensed it too. That medal has power in it because of your own faith – so it can protect you, if you've got it."

"Both of us have one," Steve interjects. Danny looks at Steve in surprise – Steve is not exactly the religious type and Danny likes to think of himself as a Catholic who doesn't necessarily agree with everything his Church has taken a stand on these days. At Danny's questioning glance, Steve explains further. "My mother gave my Dad a St. Michael's medal and he gave it to me when I joined the Navy."

"Gifts given with a lot of love and faith behind them – it'll do beautifully," Spooky approves. At the look on both men's faces, she rolls her eyes. "What? It doesn't _always_ have to be a crucifix, you know!"

"What, you can't magic up some protection for us right now?" Danny snarks.

Spooky doesn't respond. Instead, she walks over to Grace, who's sitting on Kono's lap, still shivering despite the fact that she's already got a blanket wrapped around her.

"I feel sick," the child says fretfully. "Sick and cold."

The docs have already cleared Grace – it's shock and trauma, they said. But Danny can see his baby girl is too pale, her eyes are wide and staring and from the way Kono's gently rubbing her small hands, she's too cold even though the AC in their office is at a reasonable temperature.

Kono looks at Spooky. "It's almost the same thing the vampire did to me, isn't it?"

"Not quite a possession but it's just as bad and she's _really_ sensitive to this kind of thing, poor baby," Spooky answers. Very gently, she takes Grace's hands. "Gracie, sweetie, look at me."

Danny's conscious of taking a step forward – protective instincts going into overdrive –but he's stopped by Steve's hand on his shoulder.

"She won't hurt Grace, Danny," Steve tells him.

Danny's prepared to swear that light emanates very briefly from Spooky's hands, traveling from her to Grace. The effects are immediate – Grace's cheeks take on color and she sits up, more alertly.

"It's warm, Spooky – like sunlight," the little girl says in wonder. "I feel a lot better."

Spooky smiles, an expression that is as much relief as it is delight.

Danny's got a few things to say to that. "So what else do you do, Spooks? Do you sparkle in the sunlight too?"

It gets the rest of them laughing.

* * *

  
Steve and Danny aren't feeling anything remotely close to humor once they start interrogating their prisoner.

He's a big guy, bald with a spider's web tattoo that covers most of his head and the black widow that's sitting on the web has a leg that stretches alongside the curve of his right ear. He's got a rap sheet as long as Steve's arm – mostly burglaries and assault, some strong-arm jobs for gangs but the kidnapping's a hell of a lot more serious. Lucky Penny was his street name, a play off his real name of Luke Pennywise.

He wasn't talking, red eyes watching Danny like he was fresh meat. Danny's not giving him an inch – he's taken down guys like Lucky Penny before.

"See," Danny tells him conversationally. "I think you already know how we operate. I'm supposed to play Good Cop and my partner over here, Commander Tall, Dark and Homicidal's supposed to play Bad Cop. But see, that's the mother of my child you goons nabbed and I really don't have any Good Cop left in me, not right now. You might like to talk at this point."

Lucky Penny smiles. His teeth are very, very white and the eye teeth are unusually sharp and pointed. The interrogation room starts to seem very small and very cold. Danny starts getting this weird, sick, nauseous feeling in his stomach.

Danny's not going to give in.

"I bet the woman will taste delicious," Lucky Penny just says.

Danny snarls and starts forward but the fucker is smiling, just smiling and suddenly, the atmosphere in the room starts to become stifling and the sick feeling becomes stronger. Abruptly, Danny remembers what Spooky just said about their St. Michael medals and acting on impulse, he draws his out from underneath his dress shirt.

The silver _glows_ in the dim light and Danny can see the fucker blanch visibly. _Got you,_ he thinks viciously and he chances a glance at Steve.  
And he's prepared to swear up and down that Steve is _glowing_ too _._ And just for a moment, there seems to be a silver crown set with a star-shaped jewel upon his brow.

 _Seven stars and seven stones and one white tree._

The phrase runs through his mind like a mantra or even a prayer and Danny gets the briefest glimpse of a soaring citadel of white walls and great towers, with a great stone in its very midst like the prow of a ship. And at the same time, the dark, evil atmosphere that has taken over the room is fading.

Danny shakes his head to clear it. He's got no time for weird visions and right now he's got other concerns. He takes off his medal and brings it closer to their prisoner, noting how he flinches and is trying to lean away from the silver disk swinging from his fist. "That's not what I want to hear, Lucky. Where's Rachel Edwards?"

Lucky Penny starts struggling in his chair and Danny can see the tell-tale flex of muscle that's telling him that somehow, impossibly, he's going to break those cuffs and get free.

Steve's a lot faster, getting their prisoner subdued and down on the ground, howling. Danny smiles grimly – sometimes immunity and means can go a long way and right now, he'd be all too happy if Steve wanted to stake this son of a bitch or throw him to the sharks.

Danny hunkers down in front of their struggling, pinned-down prisoner, casually swinging the holy medal in front of his eyes, almost, but not quite touching his skin. It's actually _hurting_ Lucky, Danny can tell and the medal glows even brighter.

"Master wants the Prince," Lucky Penny whimpers. "That's who he wants. Because the Queen wants him. Queen will want him when she wakes, wants him back, wants his blood. Must obey the Queen!"

" _Where is Rachel Edwards?"_ Danny snarls.

"I don't know! I swear, I don't know!"

"Lie," Steve says in a too-quiet voice, the kind that belies the threat of bodily harm done in very creative, excruciatingly _painful_ ways.

Penny snarls and tries to knock him off and clearly, he's expecting to be able to throw Steve off somehow – Danny can see him look surprised and then scared when Steve continues to keep him down on the floor.

"I am going to say this once and once only," Steve continues in that same flat, quiet tone. "And I promise you, if you give us anything but the truth, you will _not_ like the consequences. Where. Is. Rachel. Edwards?"

Finally, Penny starts talking.

 _ **-tbc-**_  


* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I must confess that it was my Steve Muse's idea to tag Danny as "Badass Adorable." I agree with him completely. Of course, we just have to dodge the Wrath of Danny for that. :P I also owe the H50 page of TV Tropes Dot Org for this…. it is so dead useful for fic writing.
> 
> Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X) fans will probably understand why I think Kenshin and Steve have a lot in common. I know Steve started out as the stoic, badass Navy SEAL Commander in the series. But we see a lot of glimpses into sweet and goofy Steve too as the first season progressed.
> 
> Plus, I couldn't resist doing the in-joke.
> 
> I know I hinted on some reincarnation shenanigans in the interlude. All I'm gonna say on the matter is that Danny was oddly right on the money when he tags Steve as "The Prince" and himself as "The Knight" in the fairy stories he and Grace tell each other. :P
> 
> Yeah. I'm clocking in at 20,000 plus words and I'm still not done. Oh well – being in the Insane Handbasket is FUN! WHEEEEE!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: See first post.

_**Interlude: Seven Stars and Seven Stones and One White Tree**_

 _They think that Grace is merely sleeping on the couch in Steve's office, tucked underneath a blanket._  
 _  
Kono, Spooky or Chin would not have left her otherwise. Grace knows that Danny and Steve would not have wanted her to be alone and would have been happy to sit with her but they too have jobs to do and Grace knows that even now, they are doing everything that they can to bring her mother back safe and sound.  
_  
 _Grace doesn't really want to sleep – she simply wants to go home, to feel her Mommy hug her tight and tuck her into bed, to know that Danny and Steve are simply just a room away. She knows that with her_ ohana _around her, the bad men can't come and get her and she knows that her Danno and Steve would guard her dreams if they could._  
 _  
Grace still remembers the gentle touch of Spooky's hands, the sudden warmth and sense of_ light _chasing the black, terrible sick feelings away. She hasn't said it out loud, but she's prepared to swear that she heard Spooky singing softly, sweetly, in a language that she almost, but not quite, understands. It makes her think of Mommy's hugs and the scent of her perfume, Danno's scratchy chin when he kisses her cheek, the way Uncle Steve smells of sunlight and the sea when he hoists her up to ride on his shoulders. The meanings are just the same – home, safety, comfort, the sense of being loved._  
 _  
Grace drifts now, in that place between asleep and awake and she's vaguely aware of the voices of the adults outside Steve's office. She can distinguish Uncle Chin's low, relaxed island-accented tones and Aunt Kono's lighter voice. She can hear Danno and Uncle Steve deep in discussion, Danno obviously trying to keep his voice down for Grace's sake._  
 _  
And then, she can hear Spooky's voice quite clearly._  


Tall ships and tall kings  
Three times three.  
What brought they from the foundered land  
Over the flowing sea?  
Seven stars and seven stones  
And one white tree.

 _For an endless moment, Grace stands in the courtyard of a castle straight out of a fairy tale, beneath the flowering branches of a white tree. And if she turns around, she will see him, her father the King, opening his arms so that she could run right to him and he would lift her up high, high enough to touch Earendil's star…_

(but that isn't her father, that's Uncle Steve…)

… _and always by his side and hers, the King's faithful Knight, laughing at them both. He will then pretend to scold and fuss, as always, watchful and protective over her, the littlest Princess, youngest of the King's children, favored and best beloved. But she and her father will simply_ look _at him with their best innocent smiles and the Knight will raise his eyes heavenwards and sigh loudly, that he, poor, long-suffering soul, was forever at the mercy of his lord and his little lady…_

(but this is not just her Knight, faithful and brave and true, this is her Danno, her _father…_ )  
 _  
And then, Grace sees Spooky in her long blue gown, long dark hair held back in a single thick braid, eternally young, her eyes wise and mysterious yet kind. But Spooky is unusually grave and grim today and she is gliding quietly down the stone steps of the castle, one hand occasionally drifting upwards to idly trace the stone walls._  
 _Grace finds herself following._  
 _  
They come to the dungeons beneath the Castle,_

(this is the jail at the Police Department, where they keep the criminals Daddy and Uncle Steve catch)  
 _  
that cold and dark place where those who have broken the laws of the land are kept far away from further harming the King's subjects._

(this where they are keeping the man, the bad man, who tried to kidnap Grace, the bad man whose friends have taken away her Mommy)  
 _  
The prisoner snarls and lunges at Spooky, fangs bared, but ends up stopping dead a foot away from the young woman's outstretched hand. He snarls and tries to struggle against that invisible force holding him in place but he cannot – it is far too strong for him._  
 _  
Spooky stares at him thoughtfully, the way Grace imagines a scientist would look at some really interesting bug under a microscope. "So. You're not a vampire, not a real one anyway."_  
 _  
The vampire snarls again, his fangs growing impossibly larger, openly defying her words._  
 _  
The tiny detective gestures and the prisoner is hurled against the wall, where he slumps down, whimpering in pain. Spooky gestures again and Grace can see lines of light all over the prison, a barrier of sorts._

" _I can't have you causing any trouble for my brothers and sisters in blue," Spooky says, her voice clear and cold. "So sleep for a while. When you wake, your borrowed power will be gone."_  
 _  
And the prisoner closes his eyes, jaw going slack, a thin line of drool dribbling down a corner of his mouth. It's a funny sight and Grace cannot help the soft, hysterical giggle that escapes her._  
 _  
And at that, Spooky turns and sees her, eyes widening in obvious surprise. She walks towards Grace and then pauses and considers their surroundings – the stone walls and the torches, the ancient costume she is wearing._

" _Oh dear," Spooky sighs. And then smiles, ruefully. "It'll be all right, Grace. It's time to wake up."_  
 _  
And Grace does._

* * *

  
 **  
PART VIII**

There are a number of Very Important Reasons why they're all at Club Denial right now.

Said Very Important Reasons also amazingly granted Steve "What-Is-This-Back-Up-You-Speak-Of" McGarrett a considerable measure of patience.

Grace, of course, is the most important reason. Normally, they would have left her in Kamekona's care or even Chin and Kono's cousins in the Honolulu PD because the big guy and the Kelly-Kalakaua clan are _ohana_ and that's not something they'd even think to question. Grace is in Danny's arms now, like the baby she really isn't anymore, arms wrapped tight around his neck. She beamed when she got an absent kiss on the head from Steve but she's mostly quiet right now and while Grace isn't the chatterbox Danny is, it hurts that she's like _this_ and if he could, he'd bring her mother right back to her this very second.

If this was their usual, typical cases, back in the relatively normal, non-magical world that Danny Williams lived in, they would all be hauling ass to where Rachel was being held with the might of the Honolulu Police Department behind them. _Don't bring a knife to a gun fight,_ was what Danny's training officer used to say all the time.

Of course, _Steve_ would bring a huge-ass mother of a knife to a gun fight, but only as a back-up to the massive firepower he had to begin with.

In this case, Spooky pointed out that they were going to hare off against someone who had some sort of supernatural abilities and magical protections. It's not as if they can take the HPD aside and say, "Hey, we might be going up against some Bad Guy with Mad Black Magic Skills and Vampire Minions – you guys got any protective amulets or holy medals handy?"

And while Spooky finally admitted to possessing "certain gifts" of her own, she tartly remarked, "I don't do all-powerful omnipotence, thanks much."

And then Steve said, "If we have an _akua_ on our side, why pass up the chance to get that kind of help?"

"You keep saying that word," Danny observes, finally putting Grace down as they walk into the still-empty Club. She doesn't wander far – just clinging to his hand. "And I have no idea what it means."

" _Akua_ means 'god,'" Chin offers helpfully.

"In this case, one of the Valar," Steve explains. "Specifically, Morgoth Bauglir."

Chin, the Zen Master himself, actually does a double-take. "For serious? _Morgoth Bauglir?"_ Evidently, this is important. The name is vaguely familiar but Danny's not exactly the uber-Middle-earth myths geek around here.

" _Jesus,"_ Kono says with feeling.

"Um. No. That's someone else," Morris Bauman calls out to them.

They all turn towards the small stage. Morrie, in old worn jeans and a plain t-shirt, looks nothing like Danny's idea of a god. He's sitting at the grand piano, one leg folded before him on the piano bench, regarding them all with obvious amusement.

"Don't mind him," Fred offers wryly, coming in from stage right. "He's got an overblown sense of drama – seems to be part and parcel of being a Dark Lord."

" _Original Dark Lord_ here, thank you very much, Firesoul," Morrie growls.

"Of course, we all quiver with terror," Fred deadpans. "All shall love you and despair!"

Kono shares a bemused glance at Chin. "You know, _this_ looks awfully familiar to me."

Chin's equally bemused. "Morrie doesn't have a Jersey accent though."

"Hey!" Danny is outraged. "If anybody's going to be a freakin' Dark Lord, shouldn't it be Commander Tall, Dark and Homicidal here?" And then, the last few minutes _finally_ catch up with him and he finds that he has to sit down, because it's not as if he hangs around with supposedly _legendary_ Dark Lords, not to mention the Baddest of Big Bads (saving Certain Fallen Angels Ruling a Certain Place Downstairs).

Grace of course, wants to sit on his lap and he obliges.

And Steve's there, sitting right next to him, warm hand on the back of his neck. The look on his face eloquently tells Danny that he'd figured it out about a couple of hours earlier and had _his_ freakout then. Steve's not the best at words but those looks of his can say a whole lot to Danny. Their eyes meet and damn it, Danny can't even berate the idiot for not sitting him down and explaining the whole deal to him, because, yes, Steve was freaking out at the time and so it was Danny's turn.

They managed to have _that_ conversation without exchanging a single word.

God, they were _so_ married.

Fred is handing him something to drink and Danny finds himself swallowing whatever the hell it is down without a single peep. It tastes _amazing_ and clears his head better than the best coffee he's ever had. And of course, it helps with the fact that he's just noticed that Fred happens to have _delicately pointed ears._

"Feanor of the Noldor. And as before, Daniel Williams, a star shines upon the hour of our meeting."

No, Danny did _not_ "Meep!"

Fred is handing out the same exact magic drink to the rest of the gang ("It's _miruvor_ ," he explains) and Grace smiles when she drinks it down. She finally speaks for the first time since they left for Club Denial.

"Does that mean Morrie and Fred love each other like Danno and Steve do?"

Spooky starts giggling at that point.

Danny manages to smile at his _very_ observant baby girl and decides to add his own two cents in. Payback _was_ a bitch. "Okay. So the Original Dark Lord is married to an Elf now and probably another _legendary_ figure who shouldn't even be around in our _normal_ plane of existence and we need help of the decidedly magical nature. Have I got it about right?"

Both Fred and Morrie yelp: _"Married?"_ And naturally, they blush and Danny is fairly familiar with the signs because he and Steve have been doing this for the better part of the past year.

" _That_ ," Steve points out with traces of his old humor, "would be a very interesting thing to bring up during family reunions in Eldamar."

Morrie regards Steve with a decided gleam in his eyes. "You sure you're not up for the post of my Second-In-Command? See, competent Evil Minions are _really_ hard to find – I mean, honestly, _look_ at who I ended up with!"

Somehow, they all look to Fred for an explanation. "One word – Sauron."

"Stupid git." Morrie grumbles. "Way too much into jewelry for my taste. If I said it once, I'll say it again – sparkly jewels are trouble!"

"You couldn't have figured _that_ one out Ages ago?" Fred says tartly.

"Hey, I _offered_ to help you out the _last_ time we were in spitting distance of one of your precious babies!"

"You see what I have to put up with here, Your Majesty?" Spooky observes wryly to Steve.

Steve twitches. "Um. Spooky? Could you ditch the royal titles right now? Still freaking out about the whole reincarnation thing, thanks much."

Danny cringes as well. "Please tell me I wasn't a hobbit in my past life, not that there's anything wrong with being a hobbit, but I can live without more ammunition for short jokes from my sadistic Significant Other here…"

Spooky and Steve exchange looks and Steve actually _blushes_ , trying vainly to hide it by running a hand over his face.

"No, Danny," Spooky deadpans. "Trust me, you were _not_ a hobbit in your past life with Steve."

Grace starts giggling at that, as if she knew what Spooky and Steve are talking about and this raises all sorts of alarm bells in Danny's mind.

But Spooky's gone on to explain the situation to Morrie and Fred now. Naturally, the two of them were aware of what was going on and had been, in fact, taking steps to remedy it.

"Damn," Morrie swears. "Didn't think it would have gone all FUBAR so _fast_."

"We were actually trying to find the next bearer of that Ring," Fred explains. "We had hoped that after you had arrested the original bearer, we would be able to take care of things quietly. Without, of course, bringing further harm to that poor soul who'd made so much trouble here or involving you more than you already were."

"Stupid thing's worse than that trinket of Sauron's," Morrie sighs. "Gave us the slip, obviously and it probably got worse when it saw you, young Prince."

Steve winces.

" _Melkor!"_ Fred scolds.

"It's the truth," Morrie defends himself. And then he takes a good look at Steve and rolls his eyes. "It's not _your_ fault, you overly heroic idiot. Just bad luck, that's all. We would've gotten trouble from that blasted thing, one way or the other, the minute it turned up like the bad penny it is."

"I'm sorry," Kono tells Chin. "And Danny was saying that _Steve_ should've been the Dark Lord?"

"Hey!" Danny says, because it's time to remind them all of the reason why they're here. "Mother of my child in imminent peril. Need back-up of the mystical sort. What's the plan here, people?"

Grace, of course, looks up to Morrie and says very simply, "Please help us get my Mommy back."

Not even an ex-Dark Lord and Valar could stand up to that. "You don't even have to ask, little Princess. That's what we're trying to figure out right now."

"We've still got enough time," Fred reassures them. "Steven's presence means that Gaunt's plans have changed significantly. The attempt on the little one here was an obvious ploy to draw Steven out but the Lady Rachel would serve the purpose just as well."

"Not to mention _more_ reasons to keep the woman around…" Morrie mutters and would have obviously said more if Fred's glare and meaningful glance towards Grace didn't shut him up. _Akua,_ Valar or Big Bad, Danny wouldn't have hesitated to introduce Morrie to his right hook if he had to. Grace was already frightened enough as it was.

Steve wasn't happy with that as well, having his patented Aneurysm Face on. "Gaunt's got _my_ attention. If he wants me, he'll get me."

"Not without us right behind you, babe," Danny reminds him sternly. "Do not even _think_ about pulling out the Self-Sacrificing Idiot Martyr card here."

"Lost cause on that one," Morrie sighs. "He's from a _very_ long line of Heroic Idiot Martyrs, right up to Beren One-Hand himself. It's encoded into his DNA."

Steve growls and raises his hand for attention. "Can we just _focus,_ here, people? Okay? Thanks. We know where Rachel's being held already. This Gaunt has thugs displaying vampiric abilities and we need to get past those. Then, get that Ring away from him somehow and get rid of it."

"If this means we have to get to Mordor afterwards and throw the thing into Mount Doom, we're SOL," Danny remarks. "It's not as if we can find these places on modern maps, y'know what I'm getting at here?"

"I don't think we'll have to be that drastic," Spooky says and it drives Danny up the wall how reasonable she sounds. "We don't know _everything_ about that Ring and I'll grant you that it's incredibly dangerous. Still, it's not exactly the original One Ring of Power. It _can_ be destroyed."

"My relief, let me show you it," Danny mutters. Steve rolls his eyes and gestures to Spooky to continue.

"Gaunt's also using some sort of spell that's a variant of the Black Breath," Spooky adds. "The spellcraft involved in having his 'fake' vampires was pretty good too. You get all the fun parts of working with the Undead without worrying about it spreading like a disease."

Morrie nods. "We have a few folks here in the Club who can back you up and clear the way for your police people without worrying about getting them hurt by arcane means."

And right on cue, the Japanese guys Danny had spotted working the Club's security walk in, led by the little redhead, who, this time, is wearing dark blue instead of pink. The redhead bows to them in typical Japanese fashion, the end of his high ponytail sliding over one shoulder. His two companions, the orange-haired kid with the oversized sword and the tattooed redhead follow suit.

" _Konban wa,_ _minna_. _Hajimemashite_ Himura Kenshin, _de gozaru."  
_  
"…Kurosaki Ichigo." This from the orange-haired kid.

"…Abarai Renji." And this from the tattooed redhead.

* * *

 _ **Interlude: One Ring to Rule Them All…**_

 _  
It started, as it always does, with a thirst for immortality and power and no regard for the consequences and responsibilities._

 _It's an age-old lure – Numenor sank beneath the waves of the sea just because its last King yearned for the gift given to the Eldar. The Nazgul too were caught, once proud Kings of Numenorean descent, turned into Sauron's slaves with the Nine Rings of Power he had "gifted" them.  
_  
 _Simon Gaunt had studied the Ring of Ar-Zimraphel for a very long time. He was fascinated by this interesting postscript to the already tragic tale of Numenor's last Queen. There were times when he would simply hold the Ring in his hands, being wise enough not to put it on himself. He would touch it so that he would be granted the blissful vision of_ Her _, so fair and beautiful and filled with that boundless rage.  
_  
 _Blood was such an important component for immortality but Simon Gaunt did not wish to simply take the traditional vampire's path. He'd known of the existence of the different vampire societies for a very long time. There were the Camarilla and the Sabbat with their clans, locked in the Masquerade. There were the other bloodlines who took no part in the Masquerade but were involved in their own petty power games. It bored Gaunt and he had no intention to simply submit himself to any one of these arrogant fools, many of whom did not even walk the earth as human when_ She _lived in lost Numenor.  
_  
 _From the moment he'd taken possession of the Ring and learned its secrets, whispered in his ear by_ Her _sweet voice, Gaunt had wanted no other person to show him the way to immortality and power but_ Her. _He wanted to be the one to walk by_ Her _side, the man worthy to be_ Her _consort at long last.  
_  
 _That poor soul was meant to be a trial run, really – a man so tired of his simple, ordinary life that it would be easy to convince him to yearn for just a little bit of spice, a bit of excitement on Halloween. The Ring would do the rest and once its possession of the man was complete, Gaunt would be closer to finding where the Queen had been hidden.  
_  
 _But the presence of the reborn Prince Eldarion, son of the legendary High King Elessar, was an unexpected bonus and something that made Gaunt inwardly seethe in jealous possessive rage. That part of the Ring's will that was intrinsically tied to the Queen's very essence was awakened at the sight of Eldarion and Gaunt could see how it was affecting the current bearer.  
_  
 _The one before him, the man who was formerly an EMT for the Queen's Medical Center, was already a dried-out husk, left behind in his store.  
_  
 _Gaunt knew that the Ring-bearers should have lasted far longer than that.  
_  
 _The Ring-bearer now was one of his own hirelings – one of those petty, desperate fools willing to do anything for money. This one was formerly one of the so-called Kapu, outcast and disgraced from his former brethren for his so called "dishonorable deeds." He was a massively built man, very strong and very healthy, enjoying the rush he got from the be-spelled vampire blood Gaunt provided him.  
_  
 _He didn't look so healthy now.  
_  
 _Too fast – the Ring was using him up too fast, too soon and at this rate, Gaunt would run out of willing bearers._  
 _This would be very inconvenient.  
_  
 _Gaunt regarded the woman who was bound and gagged to that battered chair – it was terribly amusing how convenient these things were in warehouses. He actually owned this one and it was far from being abandoned – it was used to store his inventory. Then again, it wasn't as if he_ expected _to evade the police – he_ wanted _them to come here. Preferably with Steve McGarrett leading the pack.  
_  
 _The woman glared at him and of course, struggled with the ropes binding her. It would have been better to have the child – the blood of young children would be pleasing to the Queen once he found her, especially_ that _particular child, with her connection to Steve McGarrett, not just in this current life, but in her past ones. Still, the child's mother would do just as nicely and quite possibly be even preferable at this stage.  
_  
 _Already, Gaunt could see the current bearer of the Ring drawn to the woman, reaching out to touch a strand of long brown hair. She flinched.  
_  
" _If you wish to choose another bearer, it can be arranged quite easily," Gaunt offered.  
_  
" _No," said the Ring Bearer, his voice now a soft, feminine contralto. How very interesting. The Ring's power and the possession was stronger than before. "Not yet. I wish to see his face before I take my new host."  
_  
" _But my lady, you need only lead us to where you are and_ return _for him at a later time. Wouldn't it be better to face him then, possessed of all your power?" Well, that was the original plan. Gaunt_ had _to try, of course. It would be ever so much simpler but it was hard to refuse her. Still, he had a back-up plan in place if things did not go according to_ Her _will and_ She _would be pleased at his foresight.  
_  
 _The Ring Bearer smiled oddly. "Oh, my dear man, there is much about me that you do not understand." Again, the Ring Bearer gently touched the bound woman's cheek in a parody of a caress and the woman made a strangled, angry sound. "His was the face I first saw when I was awakened the very first time. He was so very beautiful…" The Ring Bearer laughed softly, chillingly sweet, an odd sound coming from such a decidedly masculine frame.  
_  
" _He awakened me once. He shall do it again."_  
 **  
-tbc-**  


* * *

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh…. Yeah, please not to mind the presence of the ex-hitokiri and Shinigami. They’re sneaky bastards and I had no hope once Kenshin decided to pitch in.
> 
> About Gracie – Think about Danny and Grace having identified Steve as a “Prince” and Danny as a “Knight” in their made-up fairy tales. O hai, Irony, I love you so.
> 
> Next post will be the end and give me some time to wrap up this whole cracktastic mess. I hope. (gulps)
> 
> The "Seven Stars" poem is, of course, by J.R.R. Tolkien, taken from The Lord of the Rings and referring to the palantirs and other treasures brought by Elendil and his sons from the wreck of Numenor. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know I've officially lost my mind.
> 
> My Muses are sneaky so I have no idea how Harry, Spike, Kenshin, Ichigo and Renji snuck in. They probably bribed Uncle Morrie, who's kinda easy that way.
> 
> Danny's "Uncle Michael" – oh sweet Ceiling Cat have mercy. THAT came out of nowhere, I swear. For the sake of my own sanity, let's just say that the Corleone Family saga took place a generation or so later, rather than the timeline set in the Mario Puzo novel and Coppola movies and let's just say that things are going on a far happier note for Danny's Uncle Michael.
> 
> No, Danny has absolutely _nothing_ to do with the Family business.
> 
> Neither does his father (even if he does resemble Uncle Michael's dear older brother who got killed, unfortunately).
> 
> At this point, some of you may have guessed who Steve used to be and his connection to the Lord of the Rings universe. If you haven't, stay tuned – we'll get there, eventually. Whee! This Crossover Insanity Handbasket is FUN!
> 
> Yes, the fact that Steve McGarrett in this universe resembles *coughcough* the actor who plays Mick St. John in the short-lived cult classic _Moonlight_ has enough irony in it to sink an aircraft carrier. Be warned, the irony will get worse.


End file.
